India to hold third edition of 2+2 dialogue with the US on Oct 27 in Delhi: MEA

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Wednesday announced that India would hold the third edition of the 2+2 ministerial dialogue with the United States on October 27. For the third edition of the 2+2 dialogue, US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo and Defence Secretary Mark T Esper will visit Delhi on October 26 where they would be hosted by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.

Last year, the second edition of the 2+2 dialogue was held between the two countries in Washington on December 18, 2019. India’s Minister of External Affairs S. Jaishankar and Minister of Defence Rajnath Singh were hosted by their US counterparts in Washington.

Read: India, US Likely To Hold Third Edition Of 'two-plus-two' Dialogue On October 26-27

Read: India-US 2 Plus 2 Ministerial Talks Likely In Oct End; Key Defence Pact, China To Be Focus

Agenda for third edition 

Meanwhile, as per agency sources, the third edition of the 2+2 dialogue will be centred around discussing the Indo-Pacific region which was also a big talking point for the countries during the second edition of the QUAD 2020. Back in August 2019, the US had also hosted an inter-sessional meeting of the US-India 2+2 Dialogue in California where the two countries followed up on the first meeting and shared visions of a free and open Indo-Pacific region. 

The US has been pushing for a broader role for India in the strategically important Indo-Pacific region. With the formation of the QUAD, India has assumed a greater role in the region backed by countries like Japan and Australia apart from the US. 

Pompeo and Esper are also expected to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and National Security Adviser Ajit Doval on the sidelines of the 2+2 ministerial dialogue. China's aggression at the LAC is likely to be discussed, on which Washington has already extended its support to New Delhi. 

Both sides are also likely to sign the Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement (BECA) for geo-spatial cooperation after they agreed to expedite the work of the deal earlier this year. The signing of BECA could be a significant landmark in US-India strategic cooperation as it allows India to use global geospatial maps of the US for accuracy of stand-off weapons like cruise and ballistic missiles.

The first 2+2 dialogue was held in Delhi in September 2018 after the mechanism was approved by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Donald Trump.

Read: Second India-US 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue To Be Held In Washington D.C. On 18 December

Read: India-US Gear Up For Second Round Of 2+2 Ministerial Meeting In Washington