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Despite tensions over tariffs, ties with US remain robust, says MEA

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Thursday stressed that despite tensions over tariffs that the White House has imposed on Indian goods, New Delhi's ties with Washington remained robust, including the bilateral defence cooperation between the two countries. A United States (US) Defence Policy Team will be in Delhi in mid-August, while the 21st edition of the joint military exercise, Yudh Abhyas, is expected to take place later this month in Alaska, MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said at the ministry's weekly media briefing here. About Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump's meeting in Alaska on Friday, the MEA endorsed the upcoming summit. The summit meeting holds the promise of bringing to an end the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and opening up the prospects for peace, Jaiswal said. The MEA said New Delhi was yet to decide whether Prime Minister Narendra Modi would attend the United Nations General Assembly session in New York in September. On India-China relations, especially on the resumption of border trade between the two neighbours, as also to pave the way for India's import of critical minerals, the MEA spokesperson said the issue had featured in India-China conversations in several meetings between the officials of two countries. 'We have remained engaged with the Chinese side to facilitate the resumption of border trade through all the designated trade points, namely Lipulekh Pass in Uttarakhand, Shipki La Pass in Himachal Pradesh, and Nathula Pass in Sikkim,' he said. The MEA also confirmed that Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi would visit India on August 18 for the Special Representatives mechanism that the two countries have set up to discuss the boundary dispute. Sources said Wang's meetings with National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar would lay the groundwork for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit, which is taking place in Tianjin from August 31 to September 1. To a question on the spiralling friction between India and the US over American President Donald Trump slapping levies on India, totalling 50 per cent, including a 25 per cent penalty for its purchase of Russian crude oil, Jaiswal said, India and the US shared a comprehensive global strategic partnership anchored in shared interests, democratic values, and robust people-to-people ties, a partnership that has weathered several transitions and challenges. 'We remain focused on the substantive agenda that the two countries have committed to, and we hope that the relationship will continue to move forward based on mutual respect, and shared interests,' the MEA spokesperson said. Jaiswal described India-US defence cooperation as 'very strong', an important pillar of the bilateral partnership underpinned by foundational defence agreements. 'This robust cooperation has strengthened across several domains,' he said. 'Over the past several decades, there have been many agreements between the two countries which give this partnership a solid and well-defined dimension. In recent years and decades, these ties have expanded significantly,' Jaiswal said. India and the US are also discussing holding the inter-sessional, working-level meeting for the '2+2' dialogue this month, the MEA spokesperson said. Amid reports that India had halted its purchase of US defence equipment, which government sources had earlier rejected, Jaiswal said that as far as defence acquisition was concerned, the procurement process is underway in accordance with established procedures. Officials also indicated that Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's proposed visit to India, along with a strong business delegation, was in the works. The Brazilian side has announced that Lula could visit India in January next year. On Thursday, Lula proposed an online meeting of the Brics leaders. The MEA said New Delhi continued to remain in touch with Brics member countries to discuss issues of shared interest. The MEA confirmed that the external affairs minister would be in Moscow on August 21 for the 26th session of the India-Russia Intergovernmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Technological, and Cultural Cooperation. It said there had been no discussions on a possible meeting of the Russia-India-China format on the sidelines of the SCO Summit in Tianjin. It clarified that de-dollarisation was not part of India's financial agenda, and rejected a recent human rights report that the US State Department had released, describing it as 'a mix of imputations, misrepresentations and one-sided projections that demonstrate a poor understanding of India's democratic framework, pluralistic society and robust institutional mechanisms for protecting human rights'.