The Hindu : Rocca holds talks with Kanwal Sibal

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Thursday, Sep 11, 2003

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Rocca holds talks with Kanwal Sibal

By Our Diplomatic Correspondent

The United States Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia, Christina Rocca, at the South Block housing the External Affairs Ministry in New Delhi on Wednesday. — Photo: V. Sudershan.

NEW DELHI SEPT. 10. The United States Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia, Christina Rocca, met the Foreign Secretary, Kanwal Sibal, and held separate discussions with Joint Secretaries responsible for the Americas desk, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Myanmar as well as Afghanistan in the Ministry of External Affairs.

Ministry officials said Ms. Rocca's talks were part of the "regional dialogue" that the two countries had agreed to last year.

On Sri Lanka, the two sides shared views on the latest developments in the island nation.

The prospects for the resumption of peace talks between the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam and the Sri Lankan Government also came under review.

As far as Afghanistan was concerned, the discussions were described as part of the ongoing consultations between the two countries. Indian concerns on the security front were also voiced.

The situation in Iraq could have come up, but the American interest for Indian troops being deployed in Iraq under an "explicit" United Nations mandate is being discussed at a different level between the two governments.

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