India, US to hold first ‘2+2 dialogue’ on September 6: US State Dept

The inaugural ‘two-plus-two dialogue’ between India and the US will be held on September 6 in New Delhi, the U.S State Department announced on Friday. The Hindu had reported earlier on the possibility of such a meeting. Last month, the US had postponed the much-awaited dialogue due to “unavoidable reasons.” Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defence Secretary James Mattis would travel to India for the dialogue. “The United States is pleased to announce that the inaugural US-India ‘2+2 dialogue’ will be held in New Delhi, India, on September 6,” State Department Spokesperson Heather Nauert said in a statement. Mr. Pompeo and Mr. Mattis “look forward to meeting with their Indian counterparts,” Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj and Minister of Defence Nirmala Sitharaman, “to discuss strengthening strategic, security and defence cooperation” as the US and India jointly address challenges in the Indo-Pacific region and beyond, Mr. Nauert said. The dialogue was announced last year during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s meeting with President Donald Trump at the White House. After June last year, the two countries have tried to schedule the dialogue many times with several dates having been considered. Last month, the U.S. postponed the dialogue scheduled to be held in Washington due to “unavoidable reasons.” The dialogue is seen as a vehicle to elevate the strategic relationship between the two countries. The announcement of the ‘two-plus-two dialogue’ comes amidst prospects of India being imposed with unintended sanctions that are targeted at Iran and Russia. “The unfortunate reality is that India has been caught in the crossfire of the Trump administration’s secondary sanctions against both Russia and Iran. “Although this is undoubtedly a serious challenge in the bilateral relationship, it is not insurmountable. Both sides will have to focus their efforts in finding a solution that preserves both their respective interests,” Ronak Desai, vice-chair, India Practice at Steptoe & Johnson LLP, told PTI. Source: The Hindu