Last Updated: November 09, 2023, 06:25 IST
Washington D.C., United States of America (USA)
US State Secretary Antony Blinken, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, EAM S Jaishankar and Defense Minister Rajnath Singh hold a presser during the 4th US-India 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue in Washington, April 11, 2022. (Reuters/File Photo)
US-India strategic partnership in focus during the 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue. Key discussions on regional issues, cooperation, and shared priorities
India remains a strategic partner for the United States, a top White House official said Wednesday adding that it is for New Delhi to decide what their stand is going to be on any particular crisis around the world including the one in the Middle East.
“India is a key strategic partner, and I think you saw that on full display when Prime Minister Modi was here,” John Kirby, Coordinator for Strategic Communications at the National Security Council in the White House, said during a news conference. “But we’ll leave it to the Indian government and to the prime minister to decide what their stance is going to be on any particular crisis or contingency around the world, to include the Middle East,” Kirby said in response to a question. “They (India) remain a key strategic partner. And we’re dedicated to advancing that partnership every single day,” Kirby said.
These comments are in line with what a senior State Department official said earlier this month, where he stressed that India and the US share the goal of preventing the spread of the current conflict in the Middle East and advancing a two-state solution for Palestine. “On Israel-Hamas, the Indian Government was direct in its condemnation of the Hamas terrorist attack and has also joined a chorus of nations, including the United States, that have called for sustained humanitarian access to Gaza. With India, we share the goals of preventing this conflict from spreading, preserving stability in the Middle East, and advancing a two-state solution,” Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Donald Lu told reporters.
Fifth India-US 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue to Focus on Defence, Security Cooperation: MEA
These remarks come as the India-US 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue is scheduled to be held in New Delhi on November 10. On Friday, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar will welcome their US counterparts, Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken, for the high-stakes annual talks in the national capital.
“The 2+2 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 MEA said in a statement. “The Ministers will take the opportutnity to progress the futuristic roadmap for the India-US partnership as envisioned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Joe Biden, in their discussions in June and September this year,” it added.
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, the MEA said. The ministry said that Defence Minister and the External Affairs Minister are also scheduled to have bilateral meetings with their respective U.S. counterparts, which will mark a continuity of Ministerial Dialogue and reaffirm the India-US Comprehensive Global Strategic partnership.
