US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to slotxo India next week, the State Department said on Friday (Jul 23), in the top US diplomat's first visit to the world's largest democracy and an important US ally in Asia.

Blinken will also visit Kuwait and meet senior officials there at the end of the Jul 26 to 29 trip.

The United States sees India as an important partner in efforts to stand up to China's increasingly assertive behavior. Blinken's trip will follow a visit by Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman to China and coincide with one to Southeast Asia by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.

In New Delhi on Wednesday, Blinken will meet with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar.

Among the subjects on the agenda will be "Indo-Pacific engagement, shared regional security interests, shared democratic values, and addressing the climate crisis" as well as the response to the coronavirus pandemic, a statement said.

Blinken is likely to discuss plans for an in-person summit of the Quad group of countries - Indian, Japan, Australia and the United States - that is seen as a counter to China's rising influence. The meeting later this year is expected to focus on ways to develop regional infrastructure in the face of China's massive Belt and Road Initiative.