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WASHINGTON: A possible Indian role in any upcoming elections in Egypt given New Delhi’s expertise with ballots was the unexpected subject of conversation over the weekend between external affairs minister SM Krishna and US secretary of state Hillary Clinton.

In a phone call initiated by Krishna, mainly to raise the Tri-Valley students issue, Hillary Clinton first mentioned the Egypt developments, noting that Washington and New Delhi were almost consonant in their approach of wanting a peaceful transition. She then wondered if India could be associated with helping the Egyptian electoral process given its experience and expertise in conducting elections, according to sources.

Krishna told the secretary that India would be ready and willing depending on the approach Egypt and other friendly countries made on this matter over the next few weeks. New Delhi has a long association with Cairo and is generally looked at favorable in Egypt.

The two also discussed Clinton’s upcoming visit to India in April for the strategic dialogue, aimed at strengthening and taking forward US-India ties that appear ever more aligned. The one wrinkle in the engagement appears to be the possible absence of defense minister AK Antony from the Indian line-up of engaging ministers because of his pre-occupation with elections in Kerala.

Washington is keen to deploy defense secretary Robert Gates for the ministerial-level dialogue given the US emphasis on strengthening defense ties and concluding military sales, but Antony, who was a no-show during the first strategic dialogue in Washington last year, will be absent this time too, much to US dismay.

Officials said Krishna also "strongly" raised the Tri-Valley students issue with Clinton, asking that they be given time to shift to some other university instead of being given deadlines and deported. They had come to the US on valid visas and authorities should look at it from a humanitarian viewpoint and make adjustments so that they did not lose an academic year, he requested. Clinton promised to look into the matter.

The Indian ambassador to US Meera Shankar is expected to meet Clinton next week to brief her on what has become an emotive issue in India, and foreign secretary Nirupama Rao is also expected to explain the matter when she calls on the secretary in Washington this week.

Krishna took up the Tri-Valley students issue after a group of students, accompanied by relatives, called on him on Saturday to explain their predicament. While the minister heard them sympathetically, officials said they also recognized that some of the students had come to the US with the explicit purpose of working and immigrating, rather than academic pursuit. Even if US authorities offered them the option of transferring to other universities, many of them were not inclined or in a position to take up the offer, since academic pursuit was not a priority for them in the first place.

During the meetings, students requested not to be photographed for fear of attracting the attention of US authorities.

Some 1500 Indian students, mostly from Andhra Pradesh, who entered the US legally on valid visas, stand accused of misusing the provisions of student visas by knowingly enrolling in a sham university because it offered to circumvent rule and provide them employment opportunities.