The 5th India-US 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue will feature Antony Blinken, Lloyd Austin, and S Jaishankar in addition to Rajnath Singh.
Ahead of the yearly “two-plus-two” negotiations, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on Friday. In addition to stressing the necessity of following up on the visits of US President Joe Biden in September and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in June, Jaishankar emphasized the significance of Blinken’s visit.
Jaishankar stated, “We need to follow up on President Biden’s September visit and PM Modi’s June visit, which makes this visit especially important. Since this is a 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue, we are approaching our work from a wider perspective.
He emphasized how thorough the talks were, mentioning in particular the Indo-Pacific as participants in the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (QUAD) and the ongoing conflict in West Asia, which he described as a “big concern.”
Jaishankar also expressed his appreciation to President Biden and the US government for their crucial assistance at the just finished G20 Summit in September.
“We had a very successful G20 Summit in September, and I do want to thank you, the US government, and President Biden on behalf of Prime Minister Modi, because I think without the strong support which the US gave us, I don’t think we would have got the consensus and the outcomes that we did,” said Jaishankar.
Blinken emphasized the improvement of relations between the two countries while expressing his happiness to be in India. Here in India, things are always wonderful. A fantastic year of engagement is being built by us.As demonstrated by India’s leadership at the G20 this year, we have the strongest bilateral partnership we have ever had in addition to strong regional and even global ties.
While recognizing the common interest in the Indo-Pacific, Blinken underlined how important it is for the US and India to work together on this issue.
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“We have a lot to do, including with our defence colleagues. I think it’s further evidence of our resolute focus for the United States on the Indo-Pacific, our region for the future, the future is actually now, and we’re building it together with India.”
Blinken’s long journey, which included a quick tour of the Middle East and a meeting of the G7 foreign ministers in Japan, ended late on Thursday when he arrived in New Delhi from South Korea.
The 5th India-US 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue, which will center on “defence and security cooperation,” will bring together Blinken, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, and Jaishankar and Defense Minister Rajnath Singh.
