India and the United States signed five key agreements during the 2 + 2 India-United States Ministerial Dialogue
New Delhi:
Foreign Ministry (MEA) spokesman Anurag Srivastava said on Thursday that there was a sense of satisfaction that the partnership between India and the United States had grown in all areas during the 2 + 2 ministerial dialogue.
“The discussions (during the Third India-US 2 + 2 Ministerial Dialogue) covered various elements of our bilateral partnership, and we were pleased to see that our partnership has grown in virtually all areas, including including trade, energy, defense and education. We are also engaging more intensely on national security issues and both sides are working more closely on multilateral formats, ”Srivastava said during his weekly press briefing.
The MEA spokesperson said the format of the 2 + 2 dialogue reflects a comprehensive strategic global partnership that India has with the United States, under which a range of foreign policy issues, including regional issues and global issues of mutual interest, were debated.
“The Indo-Pacific region was at the center of the discussions and it was reaffirmed that both parties, who believed that this stability and prosperity were important for all in this region. We also discussed cooperation in multilateral platforms, especially in the context of India. entering the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) as a non-permanent member with effect from January 1, 2021, “Srivastava said.
He also said ministers were looking for a global economic recovery and the need was felt to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic more resilient than ever.
On trade issues with the United States, Srivastava said: “We have agreed to rejuvenate and expand bilateral trade in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, and ongoing discussions between the United States trade representative and our Ministry of Trade and Industry to reach agreement on improving the market.Taxes on eliminating barriers to trade as well as improving the business environment were noted during these discussions. “
He further said that in the field of energy, there was a sense of satisfaction that significant progress had been made under the four pillars of the strategic energy partnership, which covered oil and gas, energy , energy efficiency and renewable and sustainable growth.
<< A memorandum of understanding was recently signed in the areas of strategic oil reserves, which was welcomed during the 2 + 2 dialogue. In the energy area, another significant development is the announcement of the 'extension of the company between two parties within the framework of the World Nuclear Energy Center Partnership, ”added Mr Srivastava.
He further spoke about supply chains and said that “there was a reaffirmation of support to build supply chain resilience and also to seek alternatives in the current paradigm, and that there was a feeling that parties had to look for alternatives because these supply chains had been strained during the pandemic which revealed vulnerabilities.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Defense Minister Rajnath Singh and US Defense Secretary Mark T Esper took part in the third 2 + 2 dialogue between the two countries.
India and the United States signed five key agreements during the 2 + 2 Ministerial Dialogue between India and the United States, including the Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement (BECA), which will enable India to access real-time precision data and topographic images from US military satellites.
During the dialogue, the ministers of the two countries reaffirmed their commitment to deepen bilateral defense consultations and collaboration and to explore possibilities to expand cooperative capacity building efforts with partners in the region. .
They also affirmed their commitment to continue increased cooperation between the Indian military and the US Central Command and Africa Command, including broader participation in exercises and conferences, in order to promote common security interests.
The United States looks forward to hosting the next 2 + 2 Ministerial Conference in 2021.
