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The inaugural India-UK 2+2 Defence Dialogue was held on October 16, 2023, and it discussed possibilities for further collaboration in areas of counter-terrorism, trade, investment, critical and emerging technologies, civil aviation, defence, energy and culture and strengthening people to people contacts.
The meeting was held ahead of the UK PM Rishi Sunak’s proposed visit to India at the end of this month to push the Free-Trade Agreement (FTA) between the two countries.
The Delegations
The Indian Delegation at the meet was co-chaired by Piyush Srivastava Joint Secretary (Europe West, Ministry of External Affairs) and Vishwesh Negi, Joint Secretary, International cooperation, Ministry of Defence (MoD). The British delegation was led by Ben Mellor (India Director), Indian Ocean directorate, UK Foreign Ministry and Lt. Gen Rob Magowan, the Deputy Chief of Defence Staff, finance, military capability, and Ministry of Defence (UK).
The delegations expressed happiness on the progress made in diverse areas of India-UK Roadmap 2030 including political exchanges, economic cooperation, defence and security, people to people ties as well as regional and multilateral cooperation.
They agreed to report the outcome of the dialogue to the higher bilateral mechanism, Foreign Office Consultations and Defence Consultative Group and hold a second meeting of the Dialogue in UK at a mutually time next year according to a statement.
On Indo-Pacific Region
The officials said that they had an opportunity to exchange assessments about the recent international developments including in the Indo-Pacific Region given their shared version for peace, stability, and prosperity for a free and inclusive Indo-Pacific Region. The United Kingdom has been extremely keen to enhance its presence in the Indo-Pacific region with India as the anchor.
The two sides also considered the possibility of enhancing the collaboration in areas of counter-terrorism, HADR (Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief), coupled with maritime security, according to officials.
Countering Khalistani Terror Elements
Expanding the counter-terrorist cooperation is critical as India has been demanding that the UK acts tough against Khalistani terrorists.The activities of pro-Khalistan groups that have support from sections of the Indian diaspora in the UK have emerged as an irritant in bilateral relations in recent years.
The Indian side has often complained about such groups to the British government, especially their efforts to organise public protests and call for the creation of Khalistan.
One such example is the India-UK the Joint Extremism Task Force, which focuses on enhancing UK-India cooperation on tackling extremism, ensuring that all possible actions are taken against groups and individuals seeking to incite violent extremism, or who are involved in the financing of it.
India-UK 2+2 Dialogue
The 2+2 Dialogue at the senior official level is a mechanism to discuss and review all aspects of the India-UK Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. Both delegations expressed satisfaction at the regular high level political exchanges and interactions which have provided guidance and momentum of India-UK multi-faceted ties, officials said.
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