The fifth India-US 2 plus 2 Ministerial Dialogue will be held in New Delhi on Friday. Raksha Mantri Rajnath Singh and External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar will welcome US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin III for the Dialogue. Apart from the 2+2 dialogue, both Union ministers will have bilateral-level meetings with their respective US counterparts. They will review contemporary regional issues and look at ways to enhance cooperation in multilateral platforms, and through frameworks such as Quad.
The 2 plus 2 will enable a high-level review of progress being made in cross-cutting aspects of defence and security cooperation, technology value chain collaborations and people-to-people ties.
External Affairs Ministry said in a statement that the Ministers will take the opportunity to take forward the futuristic roadmap for India-US partnership as envisioned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Joe Biden, in their discussions in June and September this year.
Both sides will also take stock of contemporary regional issues and exchange views about shared priorities for augmenting cooperation in multilateral platforms, and through frameworks such as Quad. Raksha Mantri and External Affairs Minister are also scheduled to have bilateral meetings with their US counterparts. This will mark a continuity of Ministerial Dialogue and reaffirm the India-US Comprehensive Global Strategic partnership.
The meeting is seen as a crucial platform at a time of changing global landscape, where a dialogue between India and the US could serve both the nations’ unwavering commitment towards a robust partnership and working for a free and open Indo-Pacific.
The Indo-Pacific is a biogeographic region, comprising the Indian Ocean and the western and central Pacific Ocean, including the South China Sea.
The US, India and several other world powers have been discussing the need to ensure a free, open and thriving Indo-Pacific in the backdrop of China’s rising military manoeuvring in the resource-rich region. China claims nearly all of the disputed South China Sea, though Taiwan, the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia and Vietnam all claim parts of it.
The dialogue also comes at a critical juncture amid two major conflicts between Israel and Hamas; Russia and Ukraine, for which the West have been pressing India for a stand.
