New Delhi: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is in India on a two-day visit with an extensive agenda featuring the rapidly evolving security situation in Afghanistan, boosting Indo-Pacific engagement and ways to enhance COVID-19 response efforts.

1. He will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi this evening and also hold talks with Foreign Minister S Jaishankar and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval.
2. Ahead of the talks, Mr Blinken reaffirmed the rule of law and fundamental freedoms including freedom of religion as being the bedrock of democracies like India and the US. “The Indian people and the American people believe in human dignity and equality of opportunity, the rule of law, fundamental freedoms including freedom of religion and belief . . . these are the fundamental tenets of democracies like ours,” he said today, speaking to a group of civil society leaders at a hotel in New Delhi.
3. This is Mr Blinken’s first visit to the country since joining President Joe Biden’s administration and the third by a high-ranking Biden administration official after it came to power in January.
4. During this visit, the US intends to also focus on “shared democratic values” with India though details of this have not been spelt out so far.  In March this year, the US Secretary of Defence General Lloyd Austin shared concerns flagged about the “deteriorating situation of the democracy in India.”
5. The US said it backs India’s emergence as a leading global power and a vital partner to make the Indo-Pacific a region of stability and economic inclusion. Sources in the government have said issues such as human rights and democracy are universal and extend beyond a particular national or cultural perspective.
6. The expansion of India-US cooperation under Quad, regional security concerns in the wake of China’s aggressive behaviour and issues relating to the Indo-Pacific are expected to dominate today’s talks.
7. India and the US are also likely to discuss the worsening security situation in Afghanistan with the Taliban increasing its hostilities in an attempt to seize control of new areas in the country.
8. The two sides are also expected to explore ways to deepen defence collaboration, including exercises, defence transfers and technologies ahead of the next edition of the 2+2 defence and foreign ministerial dialogue to be held in the US later this year.
9. New Delhi is Mr Blinken’s first stop in his two-nation tour. He will fly to Kuwait from India.