India, US to bolster cooperation in fields of education, skill development

Commending the vibrant linkages between the two countries, India and the US on Monday (local time) reiterated their support for further bolstering cooperation in the fields of education and skill development through joint collaborations.

In a joint statement issued on the India-US 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue, between External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin held on April 11 in Washington, the two countries voiced their support to promoting student and scholar mobility to build people-to-people linkages between the two countries. In line with this, the ministers announced the intent to establish a new India-US Education and Skills Development Working Group and also praised the Fulbright-Nehru program’s role in furthering the exchange of outstanding academics and professionals between both countries and the special role that the four million strong Indian-American diaspora play in deepening India-US relations.

India also welcomed the waiver, through December 31, 2022, of in-person visa interviews for applicants that were previously issued any type of visa and are now applying for certain non-immigrant visa classifications, which include those for persons in the specialty occupation, academic and vocational students, and intracompany transferees.

The two countries forged new and deeper cooperation across the fields of US-India partnership, including defence, science and technology, trade, climate, public health, and people-to-people ties.