Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Wendy R. Sherman will travel to New Delhi and Patna, India April 1-4. In New Delhi, Under Secretary Sherman will meet with Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai and other senior Government of India officials to discuss preparations for the U.S.-India Strategic Dialogue, to be held in Washington, DC in mid-June. She will also hold meetings with figures from Indian civil society, higher education, political opposition and youth organizations. On Monday, April 2, Under Secretary Sherman will give a speech at the American Center in New Delhi on U.S.-India relations. She will then travel to Patna on April 3, where she will meet with local officials.
On April 4, Under Secretary Sherman will travel to Kathmandu, Nepal, where she will meet with Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai, other Government of Nepal officials and South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation Secretary-General Ahmed Saleem. She will also hold a roundtable discussion with LGBT activists and meet with Tibet community leaders. From Kathmandu, Under Secretary Sherman will travel to Dhaka, Bangladesh on April 5. While in Dhaka she will meet with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Foreign Minister Dipu Moni, and other Bangladeshi officials to discuss a broad range of bilateral and regional issues including governance, civil society, women’s issues and economic prosperity. Under Secretary Sherman will also visit a Grameen Borrower Group site outside of Dhaka.