US Under Secretary of State William Burns, the first high-ranking official of the Obama administration to visit India after the Lok Sabha elections, began his visit on Wednesday by affirming India as a “major foreign policy priority”. Burns referred to India as a “crucial global partner in the 21st century” and said the two nations were desirous of charting an “ambitious bilateral agenda” for the next phase in the strategic partnership.

Burns met External Affairs Minister S M Krishna, Home minister P Chidambaram and Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon and had extensive deliberations on a wide range of issues, including Indo-US relations and the situation in the region.

India conveyed its concern over Pakistan’s “inaction” against the perpetrators of the Mumbai carnage and cited the release of Jamaat-ud-Daawa chief Hafiz Saeed, the suspected mastermind of the attack, by a Pakistan court, to underscore Islamabad’s lack of sincerity in addressing India’s concerns over cross-border terrorism, sources said.

Stressing that he had been sent with a “straight-forward message” that India is a priority nation, he said: “The US feels India will be its crucial global partner in the 21st century and a strong foundation for bilateral relations has already been laid for it”.