John Kerry begins first round of strategic talks with India, seeks to fortify Indo-US relations

New Delhi: U S Secretary of State John Kerry met India's Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Thursday as part of his strategic dialgoue India.

Kerry arrived in New Delhi on Wednesday evening for an annual strategic dialogue, the first engagement with the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi that took power in May promising to put India back on a high growth path.

Kerry had said India and the United States were on the cusp of a "historic transformation" in their relationship and that Washington stood behind New Delhi's rise as a political and economic power.

Earlier, in the day he toured IIT Delhi.

"Very exciting" and "excellent" were the words used by US Secretary of State John Kerry as he visited two laboratories at the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology here today and interacted with the students.

Kerry, who is here for the 5th Indo-US Strategic Dialogue, took time out of his schedule and visited the Applied Microbiology Laboratory and Bio-process lab.

Professor R K Shevgaonkar, Director of the IIT, Delhi told PTI that the American Embassy had specifically mentioned the laboratories that Kerry wanted to visit.

Dressed in a blue suit, Kerry interacted with the students there and asked a number of questions about the processes involved, the education fees, patent system and also if they would get a job in India or would they have to go out.

Read: John Kerry arrives in India, US to focus on 'early wins' at Delhi dialogue with Narendra Modi

Kerry was very pleased to see a research project on bio-degradable plastic.

As a student explained the project to him, Kerry said, "Very exciting. It would be a huge contribution to the world. Very exciting. Fantastic".

Kunal Gupta, who is part of the project, said he was proud that Kerry visited his institute.

"I am very proud to be part of a institute which is recognised in the US as well. They (US) have done a lot of research which is much ahead of us and Kerry's visit to the institute makes us feel very good," said Gupta.

Kerry also visited the lab, which was using algae to clean water and to produce biomass.

Meanwhile, Kerry has pressed New Delhi to drop its opposition to global trade reforms, saying it was a test of the country's commitment to advance economic liberalisation.

India has threatened to block a worldwide reform of customs rules, saying it must be accompanied by a parallel agreement allowing developing countries more freedom to subsidise and stockpile food grains.

The deadline for the deal that the World Trade Organisation says could provide a trillion dollar stimulus to the global economy is Thursday.

India and the United States have already clashed at the WTO, with Washington saying Delhi's 11th hour resistance could kill a deal that could create 21 million jobs.

The row adds to frustration from both sides over the often prickly nature of what U.S. President Barack Obama once called "a defining partnership of the 21st century."

"It will be hard to make a persuasive case...for a larger economic ambition with India if India decides to part ways with the entire WTO membership on the Bali deal," said Alyssa Ayres, former U.S. deputy assistant secretary of state for South Asia.

Yet despite growing concern at WTO headquarters in Geneva, a senior Indian trade official said on Wednesday all was not lost.

"I am sure in the course of the next almost 48 hours there will be suggestions coming from others, and suggestions can come from us also. We will make suggestions. We are very positive and constructive," the official said.

The official said India was committed to trade facilitation, but that its concerns about a lack of progress on food subsidies must be addressed. He also said India was prepared to miss the July 31 deadline if necessary.

Disputes over protectionism and intellectual property rights have soured the business climate and India has remained cautious about committing to U.S. strategic designs in the region.

The relationship took a dive last year after an Indian diplomat was arrested in New York on charges of mistreating her domestic help, an episode that provoked outrage and resentment in New Delhi.

Modi himself has yet to make clear how closely he plans to work with Washington. He was banned from visiting the United States after Hindu mobs killed more than 1,000 people, most of them Muslims, in 2002 while he was chief minister of his home state of Gujarat.

The Obama administration sought to turn a new page by quickly inviting Modi to Washington after his election, and he is due to travel in September.