India to host third edition of 2+2 ministerial dialogue with the US on October 27
India will host the third India-US 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue on 27 October, 2020 in Delhi, Ministry of External Affairs informed on Wednesday. US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo and Secretary of Defense Mark Esper will be visiting India on 26-27 October 2020 to participate in the Dialogue. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and EAM S Jaishankar will lead the delegations from the Ministry of Defence and MEA respectively.
Talking on the development, Pompeo said, "I am looking forward to our 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue with our Indian friends. It was postponed because of the virus. I'm glad that we will be able to execute that in person in just a few days."
He added that during the meetings, the discussions would be focussing on thwarting the threats posed by the Chinese Communist Party.
I'm also sure that my meetings will also include discussions on how free nations can work together to thwart the threats posed by the Chinese Communist Party," the US State Department secretary added.
The first two-plus-two dialogue was held in Delhi in September 2018 after the mechanism was approved by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Donald Trump.
The second edition of the dialogue took place in Washington in December last year.
The new framework of the ministerial dialogue was initiated in order to provide a forward-looking vision for the strategic partnership between the two countries.
In the third edition of talks, both sides are also expected to discuss the situation in the Indo-Pacific region as well as in India's neighbourhood besides key bilateral issues.
