Foreign Secretary Harsh Shringla and US Under Secretary of State Stephen Biegun on Tuesday discussed the upcoming 2 + 2 ministerial dialogue between the two countries and reviewed bilateral relations, including expanding cooperation in the Indus. -Peaceful.
The two officials also discussed ways to strengthen cooperation at the United Nations, especially during India’s period as a non-permanent member of the Security Council during 2021-22, Foreign Ministry spokesman Anurag Srivastava tweeted.
The “priorities” for the upcoming 2 + 2 dialogue between India and the US between the foreign and defense ministers of the two countries and “expanding our partnership in support of a peaceful and prosperous Indo-Pacific” were also featured in discussions, the US embassy said in a tweet.
The 2 + 2 dialogue is expected to take place in New Delhi from October 26 to 27, although both countries have yet to make a formal announcement about the event. It will follow the recent meeting of Foreign Minister S Jaishankar with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on the sidelines of a Quadrilateral Security Dialogue Foreign Ministers meeting in Tokyo earlier this month.
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Srivastava also said in their tweets that Shringla and Biegun reviewed the “status and progress of our diverse and growing bilateral relationship” during their bilateral consultations on a wide range of issues.
The two officials also highlighted the “convergences and shared interests” between the two sides and reiterated their commitment to the Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership between India and the United States, he added.
Beigun’s visit has coincided with a push by the United States to institutionalize cooperation with India in the Indo-Pacific, primarily to counter China’s aggressive activities in the region. During his visit to Tokyo, Pompeo had talked about institutionalizing the Quad, now an informal grouping, and expanding it to include more like-minded countries.
While delivering a speech Monday night, Beigun had said that India and the United States “had been too cautious” in developing the Quad, although the group’s recent ministerial meeting in Tokyo had left the United States confident that the efforts had started to create more “strategic links”.
Beigun also described China as “an elephant in the room” as India and the United States work towards a “deeper and organic partnership” based on “fundamental alignment along shared security and geopolitical goals, shared interests and shared values. ”.
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