EAM Jaishankar, US Secretary of State Blinken hold talks ahead of ‘2+2’ dialogue

PTI, Nov 10, 2023, 11:04 AM IST

Image source: X (Formerly Twitter)

New Delhi: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken held talks on Friday morning ahead of the high profile ‘2+2’ ministerial dialogue.

Blinken and US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin are in Delhi for the fifth edition of the ‘2+2’ foreign and defence ministerial dialogue which is aimed at taking forward India-US futuristic roadmap for deeper strategic cooperation.

The Indian delegation at the talks will be led by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Jaishankar.

The defence ministry said a number of strategic, defence and technology issues are expected to be discussed at the ‘2+2’ dialogue and the bilateral meeting between Singh and Austin.

On Thursday, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said the ‘2+2’ dialogue 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.

“The ministers will take the opportunity to progress the futuristic roadmap for the India-US partnership as envisioned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Joseph Biden, in their discussions in June and September this year,” the MEA said in a statement.

It said 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.

Pleased to meet with Secretary of State @SecBlinken this morning.

An open and productive conversation on further developing our strategic partnership.

Also spoke about West Asia, Indo-Pacific and other regional issues. pic.twitter.com/t9cao3PhL5

— Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) November 10, 2023