Jaishankar discusses current bilateral issues with US Secretary of State

On Monday, India's External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar had a broad-ranging telephonic conversation with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. The conversation was on bilateral and global issues, including the current state of affairs in the Indo-Pacific region. Both sides also exchanged New Year greetings.

"A broad-ranging conversation yesterday night with @SecBlinken. Covered current bilateral issues, Indo-Pacific and pressing global matters. Also exchanged New Year greetings," Jaishankar said in a tweet.

The conversation between India and the United States comes at a time when the countries are preparing for the next edition of the "two-plus-two" foreign and defence ministerial talks. The "two-plus-two" dialogue is likely to take place later this month or in February in Washington, US.

The previous 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue between the two countries was held in October 2020. On September 1, this year, India and the United States held a bilateral 2+2 Inter-sessional meeting at the official level in Washington and exchanged assessments on developments in South Asia, the Indo-Pacific region and the Western Indian Ocean.

Both sides took stock of the progress and developments in the bilateral agenda under the India-US strategic partnership, including defence, global public health, economic and commercial cooperation, science and technology, clean energy and climate finance, and people to people ties, the MEA had informed in a statement earlier.