New Delhi: India and US will hold 2+2 ministerial dialogue in Washington where the two countries are likely to exchange views on political and defence ties on April 11, as reported by news agency ANI.
The dialogue in the backdrop of differences between India and US over Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will lead the Indian side, while Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defence, Lloyd Austin will represent the US at the meeting.
Jaishankar and Rajnath will also have other meetings scheduled on the sidelines. This will be the first India-US 2+2 under the Biden administration.
The 2+2 exchange accepts significance at a point when the US has clarified its discomfort with India's position on the Russia-Ukraine war.
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As of now, New Delhi has declined to altogether denounce Russia's aggression and has abstained from resolutions tabled on the Ukraine war in the UNSC as well as the UNGA. Simultaneously, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has addressed both Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian president Vladimir Putin on various events on viewpoints like the safe evacuation of Indian nationals and the end of violence.
The last 2+2 Ministerial Dialog between the two nations was held in October 2020 in New Delhi.
India and the United States held a two-sided 2+2 sessional meeting in September last year in Washington and exchanged assessments on improvements in South Asia, the Indo-Pacific region, and the Western Indian Ocean.
The two sides assessed the advancement and improvements in the bilateral agenda under the India-US strategic partnership, including defence, worldwide general wellbeing, financial and business collaboration, science and innovation, clean energy and climate finance, and people-to-people ties.