US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, will lock friendly horns with India’s External Affairs Minister, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, on Tuesday, 25 June. Both ministers are battle-scarred veterans of friendly, productive, and sometimes bruising interactions, between the two countries.

Pompeo a former attorney, State Representative and CIA director, will engage with his counterpart, a former diplomat, ambassador to the US and China, and Foreign Secretary. 8 years older than Pompeo, Jaishankar brings unmatched brilliance and experience in equal measure to the negotiating table.

A lot depends on the Pompeo-Jaishankar meeting. The duo is likely to resume deliberations at the G-20 Summit in Osaka, later in June. Pompeo has tried to talk up the convergence of interest by saying in a major speech recently at the US-India Business Forum, that both countries “have an incredibly unique opportunity to move forward together, for the good of both of our peoples, the Indo-Pacific region, and indeed, the entire world.”

With a nod towards PM Modi’s impressive election victory, Pompeo went on to say “Modi hai to mumkin hai.” (With Modi, things are possible).

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