India-US 2+2 Dialogue: Mike Pompeo, Esper to meet PM Modi and NSA Doval next week

New Delhi, October 23: The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said India will be hosting the third India-US 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue on 27 October. During this visit US Defense Secretary Mark Esper and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will also be meeting NSA Ajit Doval and there will be a joint call on Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

 

 

External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said that both sides will also exchange views on regional and international issues". The spokesperson said, "India and the US have a comprehensive global strategic partnership which includes political, security, defence, economic, commercial, technology, and people-to-people contact".

 

 

While taking about the agenda of the meeting he said that the talks will cover all "salient regional and global issues" as the partnership between the two countries is a comprehensive global one.

 

This India-U.S 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue has come amid India's festering border row with China in eastern Ladakh as well as the renewed global focus on growing Chinese military muscle-flexing in the Indo-Pacific region. Both issues are expected to figure in the talks.

 

During this meeting, the two sides will finalise the long-pending BECA (Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement) agreement to further boost bilateral defense ties. The BECA will provide for the sharing of high-end military technology, logistics, and geospatial maps between the two countries.