“The 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue outlined the path forward to continue building on the ambitious course in the US-India partnership and touched on the secret sauce of this relationship – the importance of people-to-people ties,” Mukesh Aghi, president of US India Strategic and Partnership Forum (USISPF) said.
President Biden and Prime Minister Modi will now look forward to continuing the conversation in May at the next Quad Principal’s meeting in Tokyo, Japan, he said a day after the first virtual bilateral meeting between the two leaders along with the fourth India-US 2+2 dialogue.
The talks reiterated and reaffirmed the strength and robustness of the bilateral partnership.
Washington has made abundantly clear that New Delhi is a key partner in helping secure a “free, open and prosperous Indo-Pacific” as both President Biden and Prime Minister Modi discussed the important aspects of bilateral and global significance, he said.
“Most importantly, both leaders touched on the worrying humanitarian situation with the conflict in Ukraine, as Prime Minister Modi reiterated that diplomacy and dialogue between Ukraine and Russia was essential to ending this conflict,” Aghi said.
External Affairs Minister, S Jaishankar, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and their counterparts, Secretary of State, Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin reiterated their respective leaders’ commitment and efforts in the global fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, the urgency of climate action, strengthening resilient supply chains disrupted by the pandemic and the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework and infrastructure, he said.
According to Aghi, this 2+2, like the past editions, touched on key science and technology partnership initiatives and new domains of cooperation in space and cyber and emerging technologies.
The foreign and defense principles outlined the importance of counterterrorism, operationalising the Major Defense Partnership and multilateral co-operation under the Quad umbrella, he noted.
Aghi said the dialogues epitomised the burgeoning military to military cooperation and joint-exercises between the armed forces of both nations as both sides reaffirmed their common strategic interests and an abiding commitment to the rules-based international order, touching on the Indian Ocean region to East and Southeast Asia and Europe.
“Both President Biden and Prime Minister Modi outlined their concern on the food supply shortages arising from the conflict and agreed to maintain close consultations on the ongoing crisis in Ukraine, including on humanitarian assistance efforts, and condemned the loss of civilian life,” he said.