Wednesday 23 / July / 2025
Muscat: US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo arrived in India for an official three-day visit where he will hold meetings with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Minister of External Affairs Dr S Jaishankar according to the Department of State
The department added that Pompeo "will deliver a speech on the future of the relationship and opportunities for cooperation on global issues of shared concern."
His trip is the third visit by a Secretary of State during the Trump administration.
Speaking earlier in the month, Pompeo said about the relationship between the two countries, "I truly believe that our two nations have an incredibly unique opportunity to move forward together, for the good of both of our peoples, the Indo-Pacific region, and indeed the entire world.”
According the department, the US is India's "most important trading partner", purchasing close to one-fifth of the country's exports.
A factsheet issued by the department states: "Two-way bilateral goods and services trade with India totalled $142 billion in 2018, up 12.6 percent, or almost $16 billion, over the prior year."
The department also highlighted that the US exported nearly 50 million barrels of crude to India in 2018, compared to less than 10 million barrels in 2017, and is on pace to export even greater volumes in 2019.
Additionally, the department noted that the number of Indian students studying in the US rose for the fifth year in a row, more than doubling from 6,000 students in the 2012-13 academic year to 196,000 in 2018. In 2018, Indians also received 70 percent of H-1B visas issued worldwide.
