Senior officers of India and the US took inventory of progress in bilateral cooperation in areas of defence, public well being and economic system, moreover reviewing preparations for the following version of two+2 ministerial dialogue. The officers held the deliberations underneath the framework of two+2 inter-sessional assembly in Washington DC on Wednesday.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) mentioned the 2 sides exchanged assessments about latest developments in South Asia, the Indo-Pacific area and the Western Indian Ocean. It mentioned the assembly reviewed the progress made for the reason that final 2+2 ministerial dialogue in October 2020 and preparations for it later this yr.
The third version of two+2 overseas and defence ministerial dialogue had taken place in India final yr and the fourth one is slated to be held in Washington.
“Both sides took stock of the progress and developments in the bilateral agenda under the India-US strategic partnership, including defence, global public health, economic and commercial cooperation, science and technology, clean energy and climate finance, and people to people ties,” the MEA mentioned in an announcement.
“They explored opportunities for enhancing ongoing cooperation in these fields based on mutual interests. Cooperation in contemporary areas such as space, cyber security and emerging technologies was also discussed,” it added.
“The officials had an opportunity to exchange assessments about recent developments in South Asia, the Indo-Pacific region and Western Indian Ocean, given their shared vision for peace, stability and prosperity and for a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific region,” the MEA mentioned.
The Indian delegation on the assembly was led collectively by Vani Rao, Joint Secretary (Americas) within the MEA and Somnath Ghosh, Joint Secretary (International Cooperation) within the Ministry of Defence.
The US delegation was led by Assistant Secretary of Defence for Indo-Pacific Affairs Ely Ratner alongside Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs within the Department of State Ervin Massinga.
(PTI)