Union Ministers S.Jaishankar & Rajnath Singh visited US to attend 4th India-U.S. 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue 2022

On April 11-15, 2022, Union Minister Rajnath Singh, Ministry of Defence (MoD), and on April 11-12, 2022, Union Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) paid a visit to the United States (US) to attend the 4th India-US 2+2 ministerial dialogue 2022 on April 11 in Washington DC, US.

Virtual Interaction between PM Narendra Modi and President of USA Joseph R. Biden

On April 11, 2022, the Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a virtual meeting with President of the USA Joseph Robinette Biden before the initiation of India-U.S. 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue. They reviewed the ongoing bilateral cooperation and exchanged views on recent developments in South Asia, the Indo-Pacific region, and global issues of mutual interest.

Highlights of 4th India-US 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue 2022

This 2+2 ministerial dialogue 2022 between India and US is the first under the President Joseph Biden administration. It was hosted by the US’ Secretary of State Antony John Blinken and Secretary of Defence Lloyd James Austin III. It was a virtual meeting from the White House in Washington DC. India was led by Union Ministers of MoD and MEA.

Highlights:

i.The Ministers reaffirmed the importance of the India-U.S. Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership to international peace and security.

ii.US appreciated India’s leadership as the Chair of the three Committees of the Security Council: the 1988 Taliban Sanctions Committee, the 1970 Libya Sanctions Committee and the 1373 Counter Terrorism Committee.

iii.US reaffirmed its continued support for India’s permanent membership in UNSC (United Nations Security Council) and for India’s entry to the Nuclear Suppliers’ Group.

• Notably, there are ongoing negotiations between the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) and US; Westinghouse Electric Company (WEC) for the construction of six nuclear reactors in India. 

iv.Both side will continue discussions on the establishment of the India-US Gandhi-King Development Foundation.

v.Both sides will promote sustainable and durable infrastructure across the Indo-Pacific through the Blue Dot Network and Build Back Better World (B3W) Initiative. 

vi.India-US will collaborate through Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) in supporting countries impacted by natural disasters.

vii.US will support projects to expand the availability of reliable and affordable solar power. 

• It also includes the $500 million investment by the United States International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) in First Solar’s facility to produce solar panels in India.

viii.Two Defence Technology and Trade Initiative (DTTI) projects specifically identified during the dialogue viz.counter-unmanned aerial systems (UAS) and an ISTAR (intelligence, surveillance, targeting and reconnaissance) platform. 

• These will add to the pact inked last year to jointly develop Air-Launched Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (ALUAVs).

ix.They reaffirmed plans to finalize a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to undertake further research on diabetes between the US National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) and ICMR (Indian Council of Medical Research).

x.Ministers decided to develop a framework to advance cooperation in Critical and Emerging Technologies (CET), and will continue to cooperate in cyberspace training and exercise, defence, trade and technology.

What is 2+2 Dialogue?

It is a format of meeting of the foreign and defence ministers of India and its allies on strategic and security issues. It enables better understanding of each other’s strategic concerns taking into account political factors on both sides.

• India has 2+2 dialogues with four nations: the US, Australia, Japan, and Russia. Besides Russia, the other three countries are also India’s partners in the Quad.
• With the US, the dialogue was initiated in 2018.

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MEA Minister Interactions with US’ Dignitaries

i.As a part of Dialogue, External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar separately met his US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and other senior members of the US Administration to further advance the India-U.S. Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership.

ii.They also had an interaction session at Howard University for the India-US Education Collaboration. 

iii.He also met US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo to discuss the bilateral commercial relationship. The US side shared updates on the US-India CEO Forum, which is an important mechanism for the US and India to deepen commercial ties and reduce barriers to trade.

India-US to establish a new Education and Skills Development Working Group

India-US announced to establish a new Education and Skills Development Working Group  to further strengthen cooperation in the field of education and skill development through joint collaborations and promote student and scholar mobility to build people-to-people linkages.

Union Minister Rajnath Singh visited US INDOPACOM headquarters in Hawaii

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had a brief visit at the Headquarters of the United States Indo-Pacific Command (US INDOPACOM)I n Hawaii which is a unified combatant command of America’s Armed Forces responsible for the Indo-Pacific region. There he was received by Commander, US INDOPACOM Admiral John Aquilino.

• There he also visited Headquarters of US Army Pacific and Pacific Air Forces, 
• The USINDOPACOM and Indian military have wide-ranging engagements, including a number of military exercises, training events and exchanges.

It should be noted that India is co-hosting of the Indo-Pacific Armies Chiefs Conference (IPACC) and Indo-Pacific Armies Management Seminar (IPAMS) in 2023.

Recent Related News:

i.On February 10-15, 2022, Union Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar visited Australia and Philippines to impart further momentum to bilateral relations.

ii.He also paid a paid a 6-day visit to Germany and France from February 18 to 23,

2022.

Static Points:

i.India and the US have signed a troika of foundational pacts for deep military cooperation viz. 

• Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA) in 2016
• Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA) in 2018
• Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement (BECA) in 2020

ii.India and the US conduct regular bilateral and multilateral exercises, including the MALABAR exercise with inclusion of Australia, the tri-service TIGER TRIUMPH exercise, the multilateral MILAN naval exercise, the bilateral YUDH ABHYAS and VAJRA PRAHAR Army exercises, the bilateral COPE India air exercise, and Indian participation in RED FLAG.