Top US Defence and State Department officials co-chaired the seventh 2+2 Intersessional Dialogue with their Indian counterparts here on September 26 and laid their emphasis on the transformative momentum in US-India ties and reiterated the need to uphold security in the Indo-Pacific region, the Pentagon said on September 27.
The US Defence Department said they reviewed progress toward operationalising major bilateral initiatives on information-sharing, defence industrial cooperation, and joint service engagements.
The dialogue was co-chaired by Assistant Secretary of Defence for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs Ely Ratner alongside Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Donald Lu, Additional Secretary Vani Rao of the Indian Ministry of External Affairs, and Joint Secretary Vishwesh Negi of the Indian Ministry of Defence, said Department of Defence spokesperson John Supple.
The officials underscored the transformative momentum in US-India relations and reaffirmed that a strong US-India partnership is essential to upholding security and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region, he added. Assistant Secretary Ratner reaffirmed the Department’s commitment to working with India to advance our shared vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific.
“It was terrific to co-chair today’s U.S.-India 2+2 Intersessional Dialogue, where we reviewed the progress we’ve made on ambitious initiatives across the Major Defense Partnership,” posted Ratner on X.
It was terrific to co-chair today's U.S.-India 2+2 Intersessional Dialogue, where we reviewed the progress we've made on ambitious initiatives across the Major Defense Partnership. https://t.co/CbNv4d1aTA
— ASD for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs (@ASD_IndoPacific) September 27, 2023
The 2+2 Intersessional Dialogue advanced a wide range of ambitious initiatives across the breadth of the US-India partnership, including defence and security, emerging technologies, people-to-people ties, clean energy, and supply chain resilience.
On the defence side, Assistant Secretary Ratner and his counterparts reviewed the progress the two countries have made on implementing the Roadmap for US-India Defence Industrial Cooperation; they welcomed progress on new co-production initiatives and committed to expeditiously conclude negotiations on Security of Supply Arrangement and Reciprocal Defence Procurement agreements, the statement said.
They also discussed opportunities to further strengthen interoperability and logistics cooperation, including through combined maritime engagements in the Indian Ocean region, as well as expanded cooperation in the space and cyber domains. The officials also discussed regional security developments and strategic priorities across the Indo-Pacific region, it added.
(with inputs from ANI)
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