India-US gear up for Second Round Of 2+2 Ministerial Meeting in Washington

Building on the success of the first round of talks between India and the US under what is called the 2+2 dialogue, the two countries are set for the second round. 

The second 2+2 dialogue between India and the US will take place on Thursday, December 18 in Washington during which the two countries will review the entire spectrum of strategic ties between them. 

India’s Minister of External Affairs S. Jaishankar and Minister of Defence Rajnath Singh will be hosted by their US counterparts--Michael R. Pompeo, Secretary of State and Mark T. Esper, Secretary of Defence in Washington. Ways of strengthening strategic and defence cooperation along with other global development issues will be the entre point of discussion. 

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The United States’ Department of State in Washington –the organiser of meeting – said,  “this year’s meeting reflects the rapid growth of the vital strategic partnership between the United States and India” and the focus would be on “deepening bilateral strategic and defence cooperation, exchanging perspectives on global developments, and our shared leadership in the Indo-Pacific region.”

Initiated in September 2018 the 2+2 is seen as a step towards bolstering ties between the two largest democracies in the world. 

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Morgan Ortagus, spokesperson at the US State Department said that ministerial dialogue symbolizes the growing partnership between India and US. 

“This year's dialogue is an opportunity to build on last year's success and forge an even stronger partnership,” she added. 

Highlighting the commonalities between India and the US, Ortagus said that both the countries are working towards a stronger partnership. 

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Emphasising the same in a video statement she said:

“We are both democracies with increasingly robust people-to-people ties. We are partners on the sea, in the air and even in space. At last year’2+2 dialogue, the United States and India announced several significant agreements, including a defence information-sharing agreement and the recently concluded Tiger Triumph tri-service military exercise. This year’s 2+2 dialogue is an opportunity to build on last year’s success and to expand cooperation in areas such as security, science and technology, and counterterrorism.”

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To which Raveesh Kumar, spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs, India asserted that the India-US relations have strengthened since the inauguration of the ministerial-level meeting.

  “The dialogue will take stock of the growing relationship between the two countries and provide strategic guidance for further development of the relationship”, said Kumar.

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