Indian, US foreign secretaries meet in Washington

Foreign secretary Nirupama Rao met with her US counterpart William Burns and discussed a wide range of bilateral issues, including counter-terrorism and the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's proposed visit to America in November.

Rao, who arrived here from New York late Sunday, had detailed discussion with Burns, the US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, yesterday. The two diplomats reviewed the Indo-US dialogue architecture after the visit of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to India in July and preparation for the State visit of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in November, sources told PTI.

Rao visited Washington at the invitation of Burns. The special invitation to visit Washington at a time when the entire Obama Administration is in New York is seen as a "special gesture" from the US State Department.

She also met Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg and Maria Otero, Under Secretary of State for Democracy and Global Affairs.