US secretary of State Hillary Clinton will travel to India and Thailand from July 17 to 23 for talks with regional leaders on key issues, a spokesman said on Tuesday.
Mrs Clinton, who leaves Washington on Thursday, will first arrive in Mumbai on Friday and plans to pay tribute to the victims of the November attacks on the port city.
'She will meet with a broad cross section of Indian society in Mumbai,' spokesman Ian Kelly said in a statement.
Clinton will then travel to New Delhi from July 19 to 21, during which she will meet with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and with External Affairs Minister Krishna during her trip to India, Mr Kelly added.
'The secretary and minister Krishna will discuss the structure and elements of an enhanced US-India strategic partnership that will enable us to advance solutions to the defining challenges of our time and to enhance global prosperity and stability in the 21st century,' he said.
Mrs Clinton said last week Washington and New Delhi intend to cooperate on an unprecedented range of issues.
'We are working hard with our Indian counterparts to create a very deep and broad strategic engagement,' Clinton told reporters.
'And it is my hope that we'll be able to announce our intentions when I'm in India, and that we will be cooperating and working together across the broadest range of concerns that our two governments have ever engaged on,' she said.
'I am very hopeful that the relationship between the United States and India, which has improved considerably over the last 15 years, continues on the path that we're on,' the chief US diplomat said.
The secretary of state will later visit Thailand for talks with 'Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and Foreign Minister Kasit Piromyato to underscore the importance of our alliance and our bilateral relationship,' Kelly added.
The US top diplomat will also lead the US delegation to Asean talks in Phuket, Thailand from July 22 to 23, returning home to Washington on July 23. -- AFP
