Washington, Apr 9 (PTI) The US on Thursday said it looked forward to hosting the Indian delegation here later this month to discuss the bilateral trade deal agreed to in February.

US Ambassador to India Sergei Gor made the announcement of the Indian delegation’s upcoming visit to Washington after a meeting with America’s Trade Representative Jamieson Greer here.

Gor, who is currently on a visit to the US, also met Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and several other US officials.

“Highly Productive meeting with @USTradeRep Ambassador Greer to discuss advancing @POTUS trade priorities in South and Central Asia,” Gor said in a post on X.

“The United States and India have previously agreed to a trade deal, and we look forward to welcoming an Indian delegation to Washington later this month,” he said.

The meeting comes a day after Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri launched the India-US Trade Facilitation Portal here as the two countries eye the USD 500 billion bilateral trade target.

India and the US announced a framework for an interim trade agreement in February, after months of negotiations between the two delegations.

This is a framework that promotes reciprocal and mutually beneficial trade, enhances market access and strengthens supply chain resilience immediately through expanded preferential access, rigorous rules of origin and addressing non-tariff barriers across various sectors.

In a post on X after his meeting with the Treasury Secretary Bessent, Gor described him as a “true leader who’s done an incredible job in handling complex economic issues.” Gor said he met Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau “to discuss his recent trip to the region and the future of commercial diplomacy in South and Central Asia, especially in AI, emerging technology, infrastructure building, and critical minerals.

“He (Landau) looks forward to returning to India, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. Dep Sec Landau has been a rockstar since day one,” Gor said.

The US Ambassador said he had a “great meeting” with Under Secretary of State Jacob Helberg “on US-India energy cooperation with special focus on next steps on Pax Silica and secure supply chains for critical technologies.” “Big things ahead for the US and India as it relates to Pax Silica,” Gor said after meeting Helberg.

The US envoy also met Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy Sarah Rogers.

“Great to meet with @UnderSecPD Rogers at the State Department! Discussed public initiatives that bring real and tangible results for the American people and forge new partnerships with the South and Central Asian region,” Gor said.

On Tuesday, Gor met India’s Ambassador to the US Vinay Mohan Kwatra, who said both sides are pursuing robust efforts to achieve the goals set by their leaders for the strategic relationship between the two countries.

Misri, who is on a three-day visit to Washington met senior officials in the Department of Commerce on Wednesday.

The Foreign Secretary is scheduled to meet Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau and Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Allison Hooker on Thursday.

Earlier, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal had held talks with USTR Jamieson Greer on the sidelines of the WTO ministerial meeting in Cameroon.

The two leaders discussed “next steps” in the India-US BTA (Bilateral Trade Agreement) negotiations and ways to deepen economic cooperation. PTI

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Federal staff and is auto-published from a syndicated feed.)