First India-US-Afghan trilateral talks in New York

Washington, Sept 24: The first trilateral dialogue between India, the United States and

would be held in New York on the sidelines of the 6th annual session of the UN General Assembly.

The first of its kind meeting would be held at the level of deputy foreign minister, informed diplomatic sources familiar with the preparations of the meeting.

The announcement in this regard was made during the India-US Strategic Dialogue held in Washington early this year, which was co-chaired by External Affairs Minister SM Krishna and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

"Today we agreed to move forward with a formal trilateral consultation among our three nations," Clinton had said at a joint news conference on Jun 13.

The announcement was also reflected in the joint statement issued at the end of the strategic dialogue.

"To support their efforts in Afghanistan, they agreed to hold a trilateral dialogue with the Government of Afghanistan," said the joint statement.

However, both India and the US had clarified that the trilateral dialogue was not targeted against Pakistan, which has always been wary of New Delhi's role in Afghanistan.

Diplomatic sources pointed out that along with the India-Afghan-US trilateral dialogue, the United States would also hold another trilateral dialogue involving Pakistan, which would also be at the level of deputy foreign minister.

Launched at the start of the Obama Administration in early 2009, the Af-Pak-US trilateral dialogue was earlier held at the level of Foreign Minister.

PTI