US Intelligence Chief Tulsi Gabbard Meets India’s NSA Ajit Doval to Strengthen Ties:

The Indian National Security Advisor, Ajit Doval, met with Tulsi Gabbard, the United States Director of National Intelligence on Sunday and discussed extensively on various aspects of relation between India and United States.

She is currently in India as part of a wider Indo-Pacific tour. Apart from India, she is likely to meet some senior Indian government officials including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which will be her second meeting with the Prime Minister since she assumed the post of DNI.

Gabbard is expected to deliver a keynote address at Raisina dialogue, India's premier geopolitical conference on March 18, 2023, and participate in a subsequent Q&A session.

As reported by PTI, Gabbard is said to have had a 'good discussion' with Doval according to top level sources.

Earlier, these were reported to be discussions aimed at bolstering ties.

Gabbard said, “I am wheels up on a multi-nation trip to the Indo-Pacific, a region I know very well, having grown up as a child of the Pacific. I’ll be going to Japan, Thailand, and India, with a brief stop in France enroute back to DC,” which she shared on X.

This is her first visit to India after assuming the role of DNI during Trump's second term in office.

Earlier this year in February, PM Modi had a meeting with Gabbard in Washington DC during his trip to the US.

“Met USA’s Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, in Washington DC. Congratulated her on her confirmation. Discussed various aspects of the India-USA friendship, of which she’s always been a strong votary,” PM Modi had posted on X.

Canadian spy Daniel Rogers was likely present at the meeting according to some sources. Rogers’ visit from Canada comes at a time when Canada and India are not on good terms due to the Hardeep Singh Nijjar issue, and he is the head of Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS).

Nothing was said officially, but it is believed that there was a discussion about increasing the sharing of information to fight terrorism or other global crimes and this was done privately. This information was given by PTI.

Intelligence leaders of Australia, Germany, New Zealand and a number of India’s other allied nations are said to have attended the conference. Gabbard is in India as part of a tour which includes Japan, Thailand and France.