Top US diplomat Allison Hooker will visit India in the coming weeks for foreign office consultations with the Ministry of External Affairs, HT has learnt.
Hooker — who serves as Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs — is among the US State Department’s senior-most diplomats. Her visit to India comes even as the two countries grapple with the challenges posed by an as-yet unsigned trade deal, Washington’s renewed efforts to improve ties with Pakistan and strained political relations between the two countries.
Hooker took over as Under Secretary earlier this year and serves as the counterpart to Indian foreign secretary Vikram Misri. Her visit for the annual foreign office consultations will see India and the United States review the gamut of their relations, from cooperation in the Indo-Pacific to strategic developments in South Asia and beyond. Hooker has led engagement with India in the past, including meeting India’s envoy in Washington Vinay Kwatra in September after weeks of heightened political tensions over the Trump administration’s 50% tariff on India and New Delhi’s purchases of Russian energy.
“Had a productive discussion with @UnderSecStateP Allison Hooker. Echoed the sentiments of our leaders. Both sides remain engaged through our ongoing bilateral and Quad initiatives, under the forward-looking India-US Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership,” Kwatra wrote on X after his meeting with Hooker, which took place just after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump spoke in an effort to de-escalate tensions between the two sides.
Hooker’s visit comes even as substantial uncertainty continues to loom over the India-US relationship. Persons aware of the matter acknowledge that the absence of a trade deal and the 50% tariff on India, which includes a 25% tariff penalty for purchasing Russian energy, continues to hold back the relationship. The 25% tariff penalty persists even as Indian private sector companies like Reliance as well as state owned enterprises have scaled back on energy purchases from Russia in the aftermath of US sanctions on Rosneft and Lukoil. Key bilateral initiatives like the TRUST partnership, which was intended to boost advanced technology cooperation between New Delhi and Washington, have also faced roadblocks. However, some also point to recently signed deals in the energy and defence sectors as signs that the bilateral relationship is making progress.
In November, Indian public sector oil companies signed a one-year deal with US energy majors for the import of 2.2 million tons of Liquefied Petroleum Gas, which will account for roughly 10% of India’s total LPG imports. In addition, India and the US signed a $946 million sustainment package for India’s 24 MH-60R Seahawk helicopters developed by defence giant Lockheed Martin.
Hooker’s meetings with the Indian establishment are expected to focus on some of the key issues that are holding the partnership back.