Hillary to visit Chennai: no talks on SL

United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will visit New Delhi on July 19 but will not discuss any foreign policy issues while in the Tamil Nadu state, specifically Sri Lanka, the raddiff.com reported quoting senior diplomatic sources.

These sources, briefing on the agenda said the visit would be ‘strictly non-governmental’ where Clinton would meet with leaders of civil society and policy wonks on development issues, mainly from nongovernmental organisations, and also meet representatives of leading American companies that are situated in this manufacturing hub, like Caterpillar and Ford, and business groups.

"All of the discussions on foreign policy will be in Delhi where we will discuss the neighbourhood as a whole when the foreign minister meets with her," the sources noted.

The senior diplomatic sources, while conceding that there have been regular discussions of the Sri Lanka situation between Delhi and Washington, and that both countries were on the same page in terms of its policy regarding the repatriation of Tamil refugees and that the rights of the Tamil minority needs to be respected, reiterated that the issue of war crime allegations against Sri Lanka would not figure in the discussion Clinton has while in Chennai.
They said the itinerary that included Chennai was more a logistical step since Tamil Nadu "looks out to Southeast Asia where she is going," after her two-day visit which first takes her to Bali, Indonesia, as much as it was also a decision to visit a city which America's key diplomat had not visited before.
State department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland had said, "During her trip to India, Clinton will also visit Chennai, marking the first visit by a serving US secretary of state to the city, which has emerged as a hub for the trade, investment, and people-to-people engagement that is driving the US-India relationship."

Nuland said that Clinton, who arrives in Delhi after two days in Greece, would be travelling with a high-powered US delegation, including senior officials from the various departments and agencies, including -- besides commerce, energy, homeland security and education -- the Pentagon and the Directorate of the National Intelligence.