The US Secretary of State John Kerry extended his stay in India to join President Barack Obama in China for the G-20 summit this weekend. Kerry's schedule for his remaining time in India is still to be determined, official said.

Kerry was supposed to return from New Delhi to Washington on Thursday,  however State Department spokesman Mark Toner said Kerry would now remain in the Indian capital until Friday or Saturday. He will leave for the summit in Hangzhou from India.

"Due to his travel to China for the G20 this weekend, secretary Kerry will extend his stay in India," said Mark Toner, the state department's deputy spokesperson.

Earlier, Kerry, while speaking at IIT Delhi had a clear message, saying "We have to respect rights of all our citizens irrespective of creed and allow them to protest in peace without fear that they will be jailed."

On the other hand, the US secretary of state got a taste of Delhi's monsoon traffic jams, when his motorcade was stuck near the Teen Murti crossing as the Shantipath-Teen Murti roundabout was waterlogged. On Monday, his motorcade took nearly an hour to reach the Taj Mahal hotel from IGI Airport due to heavy rain.

On Tuesday, the bilateral Strategic and Commercial Dialogue was co-chaired by John Kerry and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj with Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Nirmala Sitharaman and US Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker.

Also Read: John Kerry asks IIT students, ‘Have you come in boats?’

Nandini