The Raksha Mantri along with External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar participated in the 4th India-US 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue on April 11, 2022 in Washington DC.
- Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh visited the United States of America between April 11-14, 2022.
Secretary of State Mr Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defence Mr Lloyd Austin represented the United States.
All four high officials were present as Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Joe Biden met virtually on April 11, ahead of the 2+2 dialogue.
- The two Leaders had an extensive exchange of views on several regional and global issues, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, global economic recovery, climate action, recent developments in South Asia and the Indo-Pacific region, and the situation in Ukraine.
- Both leaders agreed that further strengthening of the India-US Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership would be of tremendous benefit to the two countries, and would also contribute to global peace, prosperity and stability.
Key Points of the 4th India-US 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue:
» The two sides discussed a range of bilateral, defence and global issues.
- Both India and US share a common vision of a free, open, inclusive and rules-based Indo-Pacific and Indian Ocean Region.
» On the defence side, the countries announced several measures at enhancing cooperation.
- India has joined the multilateral Combined Maritime Force (CMF) based in Bahrain, as an Associate Partner. This will strengthen cooperation in regional security in the Western Indian Ocean.
- To further enhance defense industrial cooperation in the naval sector, both sides agreed to explore possibilities of utilizing the Indian shipyards for repair and maintenance of ships of the US Maritime Sealift Command (MSC) to support mid-voyage repair of U.S. Naval ships.
» Both sides agreed to explore further cooperation in the fields of Defence Cyber, Special Forces and expanding the scope of logistics cooperation under Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA) and during joint exercises.
» Both sides have agreed on the need to revitalise the Defence Technology and Trade Initiative (DTTI) with joint projects on advanced and emerging and critical military technologies, to be executed quickly.
» India and the US also signed the Memorandum of Understanding on Space Situational Awareness — to further cooperation in outer-space.
» Defence Minister Rajnath Singh urged American defence companies to invest in India and support the ‘Make in India’ programme.
» Both sides looked forward to further cooperation to support negotiations on ocean plastic pollution launched by the UN Environment Assembly (UNEA 5.2) in February 2022.
» The Ministers also welcomed the launch of ICMR-NIH Clinical Research Fellowship program, under which clinicians from both sides can come to conduct research in laboratories in India and the United States.
» Both sides look forward to India’s co-hosting of the Indo-Pacific Armies Chiefs Conference (IPACC) and Indo-Pacific Armies Management Seminar (IPAMS) in 2023.
» India looks forward to hosting the next 2+2 Ministerial.
About 2+2 Dialogue:
- The 2+2 dialogue is a format of meeting of the foreign and defence ministers of India and its allies on strategic and security issues.
- The first 2+2 dialogue between India and the US was held in New Delhi in September 2018.
- India has 2+2 dialogues with four key strategic partners: the US, Australia, Japan, and Russia.