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Soon after her arrival in Kolkata on Sunday, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visited the Indian Council For Cultural Relations (ICCR) office to attend a cultural event. Clinton is on a three-day trip to the country and may press the case for India's stalled policy to open its supermarket sector to foreign chains and assurance on Iran. The United States will also seek assurances that India will reduce its purchases of oil from sanctions-hit Iran . The trip coincides with a visit by a large Iranian trade delegation, as India walks a tightrope of strengthening ties with ally the United States and satiating its fast-growing energy needs. During her visit, Clinton will also make the case for allowing Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in retail - a major economic reform that has been stalled owing to severe opposition across party lines. Clinton is due to meets it most powerful critic, Mamata Banerjee, the fiery chief minister of the eastern West Bengal , who had blocked the government's push for retail liberalisation last year.

Clinton attends cultural event in Kolkata