India-US 2+2 inter-sessional meet held virtually; Exchange Views on Regional Developments

On September 11, 2020, India-United States (US) 2+2 Inter-sessional Meeting was held virtually to discuss bilateral, regional, and multilateral issues including combating COVID-19, counter terrorism, India’s membership on the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), efforts to counteract recent destabilizing actions in South Asia, and the broader Indo-Pacific region. This Inter-sessional meeting was set up pursuant to the India-US 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue which is expected to take place later this year.

• The Indian delegation was led jointly by Vani Rao, Joint Secretary (Americas) in the Ministry of External Affairs, and Somnath Ghosh, Joint Secretary (International Cooperation) in the Ministry of Defence.
• The US side was led jointly by Dean Thompson, Senior Bureau Official, Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs in the U.S. Department of State, and David Helvey, Acting Assistant Secretary for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs in the U.S. Department of Defense.

Previous 2+2 ministerial meeting held on December 18, 2019 in Washington DC.

Key Points from Meeting:

-The countries decided to further strengthen the US-India-Australia-Japan quadrilateral consultations. 

-Both side also agreed to pursue their quest for a free, open, inclusive, peaceful and prosperous Indo-Pacific.

-They reviewed the progress and developments in bilateral ties in defence, security, and foreign policy areas since the last 2+2 Ministerial meeting held on 18 December 2019 in Washington D.C. 

-Both nations also discussed the US-India Comprehensive Global Strategic.

Recent Related News:

On July 6, 2020, the United States of America (USA), as a depositary of the 1946 Constitution of the World Health Organization (WHO), formally notified the United Nations (UN) of its decision of withdrawal from the global health body, WHO . The US, which has been a party to the WHO Constitution since June 21, 1948 is the largest funder to the WHO, contributing more than USD 450 million per annum.

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