The United States Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs William Burns will embark on a four-day visit to India from Wednesday, said sources at the Ministry of External Affairs on Tuesday.

The visit will be the first by a high-ranking U.S. official after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh began his second term as prime minister last month.

Burns, along with U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Robert Blake, will meet Indian external affairs minister S. M. Krishna and hold talks with Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon, said the sources.

Talks between Burns and Menon will cover a broad agenda including terrorism and the Afghanistan-Pakistan policy of the Obama administration, according to the sources.

Indian officials will also highlight last week's release of a suspected mastermind of Mumbai attacks, Jamaatud-Dawa chief Hafiz Mohammad Saeed, by a Pakistani court, as well as the issue of close links between the Taliban and anti-India terror groups, including banned outfits Lashkar-e-Toiba Jaish-e-Mohammad, said the sources.

Burns will also meet with private sector leaders to discuss strengthening strategic partnerships between Indian and U.S. enterprises, said the sources.

Source: Xinhua