The 2+2 dialogue between India and the US is an indication of deepening strategic partnership between the two countries, the Trump administration has said.
The maiden 2+2 dialogue is scheduled in New Delhi next week and US secretary of state Mike Pompeo and defense secretary Jim Mattis are set to fly to New Delhi for talks with their Indian counterparts, external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj and defense minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
"The dialogue is an indication of the deepening strategic partnership between our two countries, and India's emergence as a net security provider in the region," State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert told reporters.
Nauert added that the importance of the US-India strategic partnership is highlighted in the US President's National Security Strategy and the administration's South Asia and Indo-Pacific strategies.
Earlier, Swaraj and Sitharaman were to travel to Washington to take part in a meeting with their US counterparts in July. But the US postponed the meeting citing “unavoidable reasons.”
On August 20, principal deputy assistant secretary Alice Wells said, “With India, we are looking forward to the inaugural 2+2 dialogue with secretaries Pompeo and Mattis travelling for these meetings in New Delhi on September 6. It is an important opportunity to discuss and enhance our engagement on a range of diplomatic and security priorities and really is an indication of the deepening strategic partnership that we enjoy with India.”
Tamil Nadu chief minister MK StalinGetty images
