US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, right, India's Junior Minister for Environment and Forests, Jairam Ramesh, India, 18 Jul 2009

Today's Hello Washington topic was: US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton's Asia Visit.

Hilary Clinton's first visit to Asia in her capacity as Secretary of State was lauded as an important diplomatic step towards rebuilding alliances with countries in the region.

While in India, Secretary Clinton signed a nuclear technology deal with her Indian counterpart and also faced challenges regarding a proposal for a carbon emissions cap.

Secretary Clinton is currently in Thailand, attending an ASEAN Summit of foreign ministers. 

Dr. Rekha Datta

Our program's guests were Dr. Rekha Datta and Dr. Ali Riaz.

Dr. Rekha Datta is a Professor & Department Chair of Political Science, Monmouth University, West Long Branch, New Jersey.

Dr. Ali Riaz

She is also the Founding Director of Institute for Global nderstanding, Monmouth University.

Dr. Ali Riaz is the Chairman of the Department of Politics andGovernment at Illinois StateUniversity.

Professor Riaz, prior to joining Illinois State University taught at Claflin University in South Carolina, and the University of Lincoln in England.

Dr. Rekha Datta and Dr. Ali Riaz answered listeners' various questions about Hillary Clinton's visit to Asia.