Biden determined further strengthen India-US bond: Secretary of State Antony Blinken

New Delhi, July 28: US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, in his first visit to the country since joining US President Joe Biden's administration, met External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar in New Delhi.

"I deeply appreciate the work that we have been able to do together and the work that we are going to do together in coming months," Blinken said.

"There isn't a challenge that doesn't have an impact on the lives of our citizens whether it's COVID, disruptive impact of emerging technologies, that can be addressed by any one of us acting alone. There's a greater imperative on cooperation among countries than ever before. President Biden's determination is to continue to grow stronger the relationship between India and the US," Blinken added.

Earlier in the day, Blinken held talks with National Security Advisor Ajit Doval on a range of bilateral and regional issues including the security situation in Afghanistan.

t is Blinken's first visit to India after assuming charge as the US Secretary of State and the third by a high-ranking Biden administration official after it came to power in January.

US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin visited India in March while US Special Envoy on Climate Change John Kerry travelled to New Delhi in April.

No official details are available on Blinken's meeting with Doval.

However, it is learnt that ways to expand bilateral ties and the situation in Afghanistan figured in the talks. Blinken began his engagements in India in the morning with a meeting with a number of civil society leaders.