India-US 2+2 dialogue likely to take place in November

The 2+2 dialogue between India and the United States is expected to take place in November and the two countries will hold a meeting of the Defence Policy Group (DPG) soon, sources said.

They said that India and the US will have a series of engagements and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Defence Secretary Ajay Kumar will be visiting the United States. A counter-terrorism and designation dialogue between the two countries will be held soon, the sources added.

The third India-US 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue was held in New Delhi in October last year. The DPG is the apex official-level meeting mechanism between India's Defence Ministry and the US Department of Defence. It reviews and guides all aspects of bilateral defence cooperation between the two countries.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had visited the United States last month for a bilateral meeting with President Joe Biden. He had also taken part in the first in-person Quad leaders' Summit and addressed the UN General Assembly.

The joint statement issued after the bilateral meeting had said that President Biden reaffirmed the strength of the defence relationship between the United States and India and the unwavering commitment to India as a Major Defence Partner through close defence engagements in information sharing, sharing of logistics and military-to-military interactions.

The two countries are also strengthening cooperation in advanced military technologies, and expanding engagements in a multilateral framework including with regional partners.