India, US Third 2+2 Inter-Ministerial Dialogue Today, Landmark Defence Pact To Be Signed | 10 Points

This will be the third 2+2 dialogue between the two countries with focus likely on regional security cooperation.

**EDS: IMAGE POSTED BY @DrSJaishankar**New Delhi: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo prior to a meeting in New Delhi, Monday, Oct. 26, 2020. (PTI Photo) (PTI26-10-2020_000219B)

New Delhi: India and the United States are set to hold their third 2+2 ministerial dialogue on Tuesday, during which many significant agreements and pacts are to be signed between the two nations. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defence Secretary Mark Esper have already arrived in New Delhi on Monday, to hold the talks with their Indian counterparts External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. The 2+2 inter-ministerial talks are scheduled to be held at 10 am today. Here’s a look at 10 key points to know:

• This will be the third 2+2 dialogue between the two countries with focus likely on regional security cooperation.
• The new 2+2 format of talks were finalized when  Modi visited to Washington DC in June 2017.The first two 2+2 talks were held in New Delhi in September 2018 and Washington DC in 2019.
• Today, both the sides will be signing a military agreement to expand geospatial information sharing between armed forces of the two countries.

• The Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement for Geo-Spatial Cooperation (BECA) that would enhance the geospatial cooperation between them will help in improving the accuracy of missile systems of India.
• The timing of the meet is crucial as the United States is going into the presidential election next week.
• The defence agreements also hold high value for India given the tense border situation in Ladakh due to the ongoing standoff with China.
• On Tuesday, both the US leaders would visit the war memorial and lay wreaths in honour of the soldiers.  Later the two visiting Secretaries will call on Prime Minister Narendra Modi at his residence. The US officials then will leave for Sri Lanka, Maldives and Indonesia.
• India-US 2+2 ministerial dialogue will focus on four themes -- regional security cooperation, defence information sharing, military-to-military interactions and defence trade.
• On Monday, Singh and Esper held talks during which the defence ministers of the two countries reviewed bilateral defence cooperation spanning "military-to-military cooperation, secure communication systems and information sharing, defence trade and industrial issues" and also discussed ways to take bilateral cooperation forward.
• External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, also had a meeting on Monday wherein they agreed that US-India Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership is "critical to the security and prosperity" of both the countries, the Indo-Pacific region and the world.