Hillary to visit Chennai, a first by serving US State Secy

Chennai: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will visit India on July 19 and also visit Chennai. Ms Hillary is visiting India for the second round of the US-India Strategic Dialogue, which would take place in New Delhi on July 19, 2011. The Secretary will lead a US delegation, comprising a high-level group of senior administration officials. This will be Ms Hillary’s second visit to India as Secretary of State, a statement from the US Consulate said here today.”The depth of the US-India Strategic Dialogue demonstrates the United States’ strong support for India as an important actor on the world stage and is representative of the broad and multifaceted US-India relationship,” the statement said. ”The partnership between the world’s two largest democracies covers issues ranging from counter-terrorism and defence cooperation to climate change, high-tech trade, and scientific innovation,” the statement said, adding together, US and India were working to face the most important and pressing challenges of their time. During her Indian trip, Ms Clinton would 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 has been driving the US-India relationship.