Pompeo, Esper call on PM Modi, convey US interest in strengthening ties

 US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defence Secretary Mark T Esper called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday and conveyed the American government's continued interest in building stronger relations with India as well as discussed several issues of regional and global concern.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and US Ambassador to India Ken Juster were also present during the meeting.

In a statement, the Prime Minister's Office said the US secretaries conveyed greetings from President Donald Trump to the prime minister.

Recalling the successful visit of President Trump to India in February 2020, Prime Minister Modi warmly reciprocated the greetings, the statement said.

"Pleasure meeting @SecPompeo and @EsperDoD. Happy to see tremendous progress made in India-US relations and the results of the third 2+2 dialogue. Our Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership stands on a firm foundation of shared principles and common strategic interests," Modi tweeted after the meeting.

The secretaries briefed the prime minister on their bilateral meetings and the fruitful and productive third India-US 2+2 dialogue held earlier in the day, the statement said.

They conveyed the US government's continued interest in building stronger relations with India and working together to realise the shared vision and goals, the PMO said.

Prime Minister Modi appreciated the successful conclusion of the third 2+2 Dialogue and expressed his satisfaction over the multifaceted growth in the bilateral Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership in recent years, it said.

The prime minister underlined the strong foundation of trust, shared values, and robust people-to-people ties between both countries, the statement said.

US State Department Principal Deputy Spokesperson Cale Brown said that during the meeting, Secretary Pompeo and Prime Minister Modi discussed several issues of regional and global concern on which the United States and India collaborate, including COVID-19 response, security and defence cooperation, and shared interests in a free and open Indo-Pacific.

The secretary and the prime minister pledged to further strengthen the US-India Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership to better ensure the security and prosperity of both countries, the Indo-Pacific region, and the world, Brown said in a statement.

Secretary Pompeo and Prime Minister Modi welcomed the warm and close relationship between the two countries, which is rooted in their vibrant democratic traditions and fostered by strong ties between their citizens.

Jaishankar and Singh held the third edition of the 2+2 talks with US Secretary of State Pompeo and Defence Secretary Esper.

India and the US also signed the landmark defence pact, BECA, that will allow sharing of high-end military technology, geospatial maps and classified satellite data between their militaries.

At the 2+2 talks, the two sides also vowed to ramp up their security ties and boost strategic cooperation in the Indo-Pacific amidst China's growing economic and military clout in the region.

United States and Brazil must reduce dependence on China imports: Pompeo

 

BRASILIA/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo warned on Monday that as the United States and Brazil reinforce their business partnership, they need to reduce their dependence on imports from China for their own security.

At a virtual summit on increased U.S.-Brazil cooperation aimed at post-pandemic recovery, Pompeo underscored the importance of expanding bilateral economic ties, given what he called "enormous risk" stemming from China's significant participation in their economies.

"To the extent we can find ways that we can increase the trade between our two countries, we can ... decrease each of our two nations' dependence for critical items" coming from China, he said.

"Each of our two peoples will be more secure, and each of our two nations will be far more prosperous, whether that's two or five or 10 years from now," he added.

The Trump administration is working to boost ties with Brazil and provide a counterweight to China, keen to gain some advantage in what it sees as a new "Great Power" competition.

Brazilian far-right President Jair Bolsonaro wants to follow suit but is hamstrung by China being Brazil's largest trade partner, which buys much of its soy and iron ore.

Some U.S. politicians are trying to "sow discord," said Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian, when asked about Pompeo's comments.

Cooperation between China and Brazil is durable and has broad support in both countries, he said, speaking at a news conference in Beijing on Tuesday.

Bolsonaro has yet to decide whether to ban Brazilian telecom companies from buying 5G equipment from China's Huawei Technologies Co Ltd [HWT.UL] as the U.S government has sought.

At the summit organized by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Bolsonaro announced three agreements with the United States to ensure good business practices and stop corruption. He said the package will slash red tape and increase trade and investment.

"In the last year and a half, together with President Trump, we have elevated Brazil-U.S. relations to its best moment ever, and opened a new chapter in the relationship between the two largest economies and democracies in the hemisphere," he said.

The two countries signed the protocol outlining the three agreements late on Monday, saying they would set the stage for future talks on expanding trade ties between the two allies and identifying priority sectors to further reduce trade barriers.

Two top U.S. Democratic lawmakers slammed the Trump administration for increasing trade cooperation with Bolsonaro's far-right government despite its "abysmal record" on human rights, the environment and corruption.

"Giving President Bolsonaro ammunition to claim that the United States endorses his behavior sullies our nation's reputation as a country that demands our trade partners respect human rights and the rule of law," said U.S. House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal.

Representative Earl Blumenauer, who heads the committee's trade panel, said the protocol was the latest mini trade deal signed by the Trump administration without congressional buy-in.

Pompeo said Brazil was getting closer to joining the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) grouping rich nations with the support of the United States.

"We want this to happen as quickly as we can," he said.

The U.S. Export-Import Bank would back projects valued at $450 million in Brazil this year, while the U.S. Development Finance Corp had plans involving about $1 billion in projects there, he said.

U.S. goods and services trade with Brazil totaled an estimated $105.1 billion in 2019.

 

(Reporting by Lisandra Paraguassu and Anthony Boadle in Brasilia, Humeyra Pamuk and Andrea Shalal in Washington, Leonardo Benassatto in Sao Paulo; Additional reporting by Gabriel Crossley in Beijing; Editing by Richard Chang, Cynthia Osterman and Edwina Gibbs)

State Dept will do what is 'required by law' in Trump impeachment: Pompeo

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has said that the Department of State will do what is "required by law" in the impeachment proceedings against his boss and President Donald Trump.

Pompeo, who is travelling in Greece, told reporters that he sent a letter in this regard to the Congress on Friday night which he said was the department's initial response to the documents requested by a Congressional committee.

"We'll obviously do all the things we're required to do by law," Pompeo said in response to a question.

"I was a member of Congress once; Article I has a certain set of powers, and Article II has an obligation to make sure that we protect officials at the State Department," he added.

"And sadly, there have been congressional inquiries that have harassed and abused State Department employees by contacting them directly and seeking to have them provide documents documents that belong to the State Department, that are official US Government records and ask them to do so without saying, hey, don't bother calling the State Department lawyers; just talk to us directly," he said.

"That's harassment, and I'll never let that happen to my team," he asserted.

Pompeo alleged that the previous Obama Administration was not responsive to the documents being sought by the US Congress and its committees.

"I remember once when I was on that side and we were looking for documents, I remember precisely how long it took for those documents to come across. We're going to beat that. We're going to be more responsive than the Obama administration was in the years preceded this particular congress," he said.

Responding to a question on appropriateness of the investigation against Trump, Pompeo alleged that "there's clearly politics involved" in it.

The Trump Administration, he said, was incredibly focused on making sure that they worked with Ukraine in a way that was appropriate.

"It is not only appropriate, but it is our duty to investigate if we think there was interference in the election of 2016, I think everyone recognises that governments have an obligation indeed, a duty to ensure that elections happen with integrity, without interference from any government, whether that's the Ukrainian government or any other," he said.

"So, inquiries with respect to that are completely important, and if we need another government's assistance, it's very reasonable to ask that government, to say, do you have any help that you can provide so we can protect the American people, so that they can vote in free and fair elections without interference from any other country?" he asked.

Pompeo said there have been some suggestions that it would be inappropriate for the United States government to engage in that activity.

"I see it just precisely the opposite. I see our duty to engage in activity that ensures that we have fair, free elections. I only wish that the previous administration had protected our elections back in 2016," he said.

"You'll recall that the interference that took place took place under the previous administration," the top US diplomat added.