India will again push its agenda and ask the US to lobby on behalf of India to get NSG membership. Despite US assurances and diplomatic maneuverings India was unable to gain membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group in the last meeting in Seoul due to Chinese opposition.
In addition, India will ask the US to roll back the hike in H1 B and L1 visa fees which has been a major irritant in India-US ties. The US has recently doubled the visa fees to $4,000 for H1 B and $4,500 for L1 which has adversely affected Indian IT professionals.
The Second Indo-US Strategic and Commercial Dialogue will also try to find ways to strengthen the business and investment climate, bilateral trade and security cooperation between the two countries.
Apart from political representation, the meeting will be attended by CEO’s of high level companies of both countries. India and the US have planned to increase annual bilateral trade from $100 billion to $500 billion which will be the prime focus of the discussion of CEO’s Forum.
US Secretary of State John Kerry will also have a bilateral one-to-one meeting with the External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval. John Kerry will also meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi on August 31 before his departure.
