As the fifth India-US 2+2 Ministerial dialog is all set to take place in New Delhi on November 10, the defense and the foreign ministers of both countries will take the opportunity to progress the futuristic roadmap for the India-US partnership as envisioned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Joe Biden.
India’s Defense Minister Rajnath Singh and Minister of External Affairs S. Jaishankar will welcome US Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III for the Fifth India-U.S. 2+2 Ministerial Dialog here in the national capital, the Ministry of External Affairs said in an official release.
READ: indica’s coverage of the US-India 2+2 Ministerial Dialog
A high-level assessment of the advancements being made in intersecting areas of technological value chain partnerships, people-to-people relationships, and military and security cooperation will be possible through the 2+2 dialog.
The ministers of both nations will not only take the opportunity to progress the futuristic roadmap for the India-US partnership but will also take stock of contemporary regional issues.
According to the MEA release, the leaders will exchange views about shared priorities for augmenting cooperation in multilateral platforms, and through frameworks such as Quad (Quadrilateral Security Dialog), the four-nation alliance of India, the US, Australia and Japan.
Singh and Jaishankar are also scheduled to have bilateral meetings with their respective US counterparts, which will mark a continuity of Ministerial Dialog and reaffirm the India-US Comprehensive Global Strategic partnership.
Earlier a release from the US Department of Defense said that, “Secretary Lloyd Austin will travel to India to meet with his counterpart, Minster of Defense Rajnath Singh, to discuss expanding defense industrial cooperation, enhancing interoperability, and advancing innovation through the India-U.S. Defense Acceleration Ecosystem (INDUS-X).”
“The Secretary and Minister Singh will also participate in the fifth 2+2 Ministerial Dialog alongside Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken and Minister of External Affairs S. Jaishankar. Following the Ministerial, Secretaries Blinken and Austin will meet with Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” the release read.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has been criss-crossing the Middle East in an effort to resolve the crisis even as the Israel-Hamas conflict enters its second month. The crisis in the Middle East is likely to feature in the 2+2 dialog.
