Deputy Secretary of State William J. Burns hosted Indian Ambassador S. Jaishankar for a productive lunch meeting today at the State Department. Deputy Secretary Burns and Ambassador Jaishankar affirmed the importance of the U.S.-India strategic partnership. They agreed that the past several weeks have been challenging, and affirmed that we are both committed to moving forward to resume cooperation on the broad range of bilateral issues before us.

Deputy Secretary Burns and Ambassador Jaishankar also discussed the variety of issues raised by the Ministry of External Affairs via diplomatic note, including alleged issues with the American Embassy School. Deputy Secretary Burns conveyed that we take their concerns very seriously and will continue to address them via appropriate diplomatic channels.

Deputy Secretary Burns and Ambassador Jaishankar affirmed our shared commitment to continue joint U.S.-India work on issues such as clean energy and climate change, defense, economic and trade engagement, counterterrorism, and civil nuclear development. To that end, they discussed initial preparations for a range of upcoming bilateral meetings and exchanges.