India and the US are set to hold their first Strategic Dialogue here on Thursday during which the two sides are expected to discuss the Afghan-Pak situation and bilateral counter-terrorism cooperation. India's External Affairs Minister S M Krishna, who arrived here Tuesday night for the Strategic Dialogue with his US counterpart Hillary Clinton, is leading a high-power delegation including HRD (Human Resources Development) Minister Kapil Sibal, Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Minister of State for Science and Technology Prithviraj Chauhan and Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao. Other members of the delegation are Special Secretary for Internal Security U K Bansal, Environment Secretary Vijai Sharma and Indian Ambassador to the US Meera Shankar. The Strategic Dialogue would formally open on Thursday with a joint meeting at the Foggy Bottom headquarters of the State Department, co-chaired by Krishna and Secretary of State Clinton. The issues that are expected to come up include Afghanistan-Pakistan situation, India's role in Afghanistan and counter-terrorism cooperation between the two sides, according to a report of the Press Trust of India.
