On 11th April the fourth 2+2 meeting was held between India and US. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken and Secretary of Defence Lloyd J. Austin III welcomed Minister of Defence Rajnath Singh and Minister of External Affairs Dr. S. Jaishankar to Washington, D.C.
This meeting was preceded by a virtual meeting between PM Modi and US President Joe Biden.
The two sides discussed free and open Indo-Pacific, the ongoing war in Ukraine and counter terrorism cooperation. Discussions also included the developments in the Indian subcontinent (Sri Lanka's economic crisis, Pakistan's political chaos).
The readouts released by the both sides don't mention India speaking about China directly. However, the US Secretary of Defence did mention China directly.
At the 2+2 meeting he said, "The People’s Republic of China is seeking to refashion the region and the international system more broadly in ways that serve its authoritarian interests. But as we operationalise our defence agreements and take our cooperation to the next level, I believe that we can sustain and strengthen a favourable balance of power in the region."
In focus was building a resilient, regional security architecture.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh spoke about the growing depth and scale of defence partnership. He highlighted how India's defence supplies from USA has reached $20 billion.
The Ministers reaffirmed the vital role of secure, resilient, reliable, and diverse supply chains for Critical and Emerging Technologies (CET), and the need to enable regional and global innovation. The Ministers decided to put in place a framework to advance cooperation in CET such as advanced communication technology, artificial intelligence, quantum science, STEM, semi-conductors and biotechnology.
Recalling their countries’ strong tradition of space exploration and endeavors, the Ministers announced the conclusion of a Memorandum of Understanding on Space Situational Awareness and pledged to expand bilateral space cooperation, acknowledging the pivotal role international cooperation plays in the long-term sustainability and safety of the outer-space environment. They applauded the ongoing development of the NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) satellite, planned for launch from India in 2023. The NISAR mission will collect data vital to tackling the climate crisis. The Ministers also looked forward to the convening of the next India-U.S. Civil Space Joint Working Group in 2022.
On 11th April the fourth 2+2 meeting was held between India and US. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken and Secretary of Defence Lloyd J. Austin III welcomed Minister of Defence Rajnath Singh and Minister of External Affairs Dr. S. Jaishankar to Washington, D.C.
This meeting was preceded by a virtual meeting between PM Modi and US President Joe Biden.
The two sides discussed free and open Indo-Pacific, the ongoing war in Ukraine and counter terrorism cooperation. Discussions also included the developments in the Indian subcontinent (Sri Lanka's economic crisis, Pakistan's political chaos).
The readouts released by the both sides don't mention India speaking about China directly. However, the US Secretary of Defence did mention China directly.
At the 2+2 meeting he said, "The People’s Republic of China is seeking to refashion the region and the international system more broadly in ways that serve its authoritarian interests. But as we operationalise our defence agreements and take our cooperation to the next level, I believe that we can sustain and strengthen a favourable balance of power in the region."
In focus was building a resilient, regional security architecture.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh spoke about the growing depth and scale of defence partnership. He highlighted how India's defence supplies from USA has reached $20 billion.
The Ministers reaffirmed the vital role of secure, resilient, reliable, and diverse supply chains for Critical and Emerging Technologies (CET), and the need to enable regional and global innovation. The Ministers decided to put in place a framework to advance cooperation in CET such as advanced communication technology, artificial intelligence, quantum science, STEM, semi-conductors and biotechnology.
Recalling their countries’ strong tradition of space exploration and endeavors, the Ministers announced the conclusion of a Memorandum of Understanding on Space Situational Awareness and pledged to expand bilateral space cooperation, acknowledging the pivotal role international cooperation plays in the long-term sustainability and safety of the outer-space environment. They applauded the ongoing development of the NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) satellite, planned for launch from India in 2023. The NISAR mission will collect data vital to tackling the climate crisis. The Ministers also looked forward to the convening of the next India-U.S. Civil Space Joint Working Group in 2022.
Read More at https://swarajyamag.com/current-affairs/takeaways-from-the-fourth-india-us-22-ministerial-dialogue