Swaraj meets Tillerson, discusses range of issues including terrorism

The two leaders met on the sidelines of the annual UN General Assembly session in New York.

New York, Sep 22: External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, who is in the US for the annual UN General Assembly meeting, on Friday held a meeting with US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.

They reviewed all aspects of the bilateral relationship and discussed the situation in the neighbourhood and the Indo-Asia Pacific region.

The two leaders met on the sidelines of the annual UN General Assembly session here. This was the highest-level meeting between the leaders of the two countries since June when Prime Minister Narendra Modi held talks with US President Donald Trump. Swaraj and Tillerson discussed a wide range of bilateral issues, including the situation in the neighbourhood and the Indo-Asia Pacific region, officials said.

The meeting also comes ahead of the visit of Defence Secretary Jim Mattis to India next week. Swaraj is scheduled to address the world body tomorrow.

"This morning, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson met with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj in New York City," the US State Department said in a tweet along with a picture of the two leaders greeting each other.

Later, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said the two leaders reviewed all aspects of the bilateral relationship, including expanding our trade and investment relations.

"Deepening global strategic partnership, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj meets with Rex Tillerson, US Secretary of State in their first stand-alone meeting," Kumar tweeted.

PTI