NEW DELHI: If you live in Delhi or were visiting the city on Monday, there is a high chance you spent a large part of the evening stuck in traffic. Delhi's traffic jams are non-discriminatory, as US Secretarty of State
John Kerry found out. Minutes after he landed in Delhi, Kerry was stuck in a traffic jam outside the airport.
American media travelling with Kerry reported that his motorcade was stuck in one of the many
crippling traffic jams that rain inflicted on the megapolis on Monday evening.
This is Kerry's fourth trip to India as Secretary of State. But this time, he landed in Delhi
from Bangladesh only to join millions of the city’s residents in their woe.
Senior officials of the Delhi Police refused to divulge details of the incident, claiming it was a "security matter". Officials sought to downplay the incident, saying the convoy was not stuck. They said it had only slowed down due to heavy traffic and rainfall.
The top man in the US State Department is in Delhi to take part in the
second India-US Strategic and Commercial Dialogue . Kerry is scheduled to be one of the co-chairs of the dialogue on Tuesday, along with US Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker. The Indian co-chairs will be External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Union Minister for Commerce and Industry Nirmala Sitharaman. The US delegation will see top officials from 12 US government departments hold talks with their Indian counterparts.
Kerry is also scheduled to hold bilateral meetings on Wednesday with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, External Affiars Minister Sushma Swaraj and National Security Adviser Ajit Doval.
Kerry visit is part of the Obama administration’s
efforts to conclude important business with India before the change of guard in January 2017.