Jaishankar, Blinken hold talks ahead of ‘2+2’ dialogue

India’s External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken held talks ahead of the high-profile ‘2+2’ ministerial dialogue.

Mr. Blinken and US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin are in Delhi for the fifth edition of the ‘2+2’ foreign and defense ministerial dialogue to take forward the India-US futuristic roadmap for deeper strategic cooperation.

Defense Minister Rajnath Singh and Mr. Jaishankar will lead the Indian delegation at the talks.

The Defence Ministry said several strategic, defense, and technology issues are expected to be discussed at the ‘2+2’ dialogue and the bilateral meeting between Mr. Singh and Mr. Austin.

On Nov. 9, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said the ‘2+2’ dialogue would enable a high-level review of the progress made in cross-cutting aspects of defense 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-U.S. partnership as envisioned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Joseph Biden, in their discussions in June and September this year,” the MEA said.

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.