Top U.S. diplomat Kerry to visit India, Bangladesh

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will visit India and Bangladesh next week to discuss closer cooperation with Dhaka on global issues and co-chair strategic and commercial talks in New Delhi, the State Department said on Wednesday. Kerry will travel to Dhaka on Aug. 29 to meet with government officials to discuss growing U.S.-Bangladesh cooperation on international issues and to talk about development, security and human rights, it said. Kerry will be in New Delhi Aug. 29-31 to co-chair the regular U.S.-India Strategic and Commercial Dialogue with other senior officials from both countries. He and U.S. Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker will meet with Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Indian Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, as well as other officials from both sides. The Strategic and Commercial Dialogue is the main bilateral forum for advancing shared security and economic priorities of the United States and India, the State Department said. (Reporting by David Alexander; Editing by Alan Crosby)