New Delhi: External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar on Monday held bilateral talks with US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo ahead of the third India-US 2+2 ministerial dialogue slated to be held on Tuesday.
"Pleased to welcome @Secpompeo. Taking our comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership forward," Jaishankar said in a tweet.
Both the leaders exchanged views on the current global situation and its contemporary challenges; discussed shared concerns and interests including stability and security in Asia, and how best that can be ensured.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said in a tweet, "Warm and productive meeting with Secretary Pompeo. Discussed key bilateral, regional and global issues and reviewed progress in ties: grown sustainability in every domain. Our foreign policy consultations and cooperation have expanded."
India and US are working closely on plurilateral and multilateral formats. Looking forward to the 2+2 Dialogue tomorrow, the minister added.
It is learnt that both ministers also discussed multilateral consultations and cooperation in the context of India's forthcoming UNSC membership. According to reports, during the talks, India raised the issue of cross-border terrorism meted out by Pakistan.
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Secretary Pompeo shared his opinion on Afghanistan and Jaishankar on the other hand, highlighted India's stakes and that decision should be made by Afghans.
Earlier today, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh held talks with Mark Esper. Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat, Army Chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane, IAF Chief Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria and Navy Chief Admiral Karambir Singh were also present at the meeting.
The US officials are on a two-day visit to India to strengthen their strategic and security ties in the face of growing Chinese aggression across the Indo-Pacific region.
The two-day visit comes at a time when India is engaged in a bitter border row with China, and the issue is expected to figure in the deliberations.
Pompeo and Secretary of Defence Mark Esper are attending the third India-US 2+2 ministerial dialogue on Tuesday that is expected to focus on a Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership and expansion in cooperation to promote stability and prosperity in the India-Pacific and the world.
According to reports, as part of an intensifying pushback against China's growing economic and military power in the region, Pompeo will also travel to Sri Lanka and the Maldives, two Indian Ocean countries struggling with a mountain of Chinese debt incurred to finance big infrastructure projects.
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It is pertinent to note that Pompeo will conclude his trip, which comes in the final week before the U.S. presidential election, in Indonesia, which is also locked in territorial disputes with China in the South China Sea.
The third India-US 2+2 talks will focus on four themes -- regional security cooperation, defence information sharing, military-to-military interactions, and defence trade, the US State Department said.
The talk will focus on advancing the Indo-US comprehensive global strategic partnership and further strengthening cooperation to promote stability and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region and the world. The first two 2+2 Ministerial dialogues had been held in New Delhi in September 2018 and Washington DC in 2019.
The two sides will also sign the long-pending BECA (Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement) agreement to further boost bilateral defence ties. The BECA will provide a platform for sharing of high-end military technology, logistics and geospatial maps between the two countries.
