India's Foreign Secretary to visit the US next week

New Delhi, Feb 1 (PTI) India and the US will discuss important regional and bilateral issues including situation in Afghanistan when India's Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai travels to Washington next week, his first official visit to the US after taking up the key post. Mathai will be travelling to the US from February 6 to February 8 for regular Foreign Office Consultations with his counterpart Under Secretary-Political Affairs Wendy Sherman, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin said here today. "The agenda is still evolving .... But we expect that the interaction is pretty broad, it is expansive. Our relationship covers a wide spectrum and there will be discussion on entire set of the issues that we have been engaging with the US on ....", the spokesperson said when asked about the specific agenda. Issues like status of nuclear commerce between India and the US and fresh sanctions imposed by the US and the EU on Iranian oil trade are likely to figure during Mathai's meetings, according to sources. Mathai's visit is also expected to set the stage for the visit of External Affairs Minister S M Krishna to Washington for the third India-US strategic dialogue later this year. Last month, Mathai had said India will not seek a waiver from the US sanctions against Tehran and will continue buying Iranian oil. Mathai has also made it clear that while India will adhere to the UN sanctions it is not bound by unilateral sanctions imposed by other countries. PTI