New Delhi: The fifth India-US 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue focused on partnerships ranging from trade, investment and technology and the meeting was indicative of an enduring bilateral relation between the two countries, Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra said.
Addressing a press briefing on Friday, Kwatra said, “The meeting was indicative of an enduring bilateral relation and it underlined our desire to further strengthen this partnership.”
The Foreign Secretary said the ministerial dialogue also focused on the challenges faced by the two countries and the ways to tap into the regional opportunities.
“The principals also focused and deliberated on the ongoing regional developments. They discussed the common challenges that both India and the US face, but also how to work more strongly to harness the opportunities in many of the regions of the world,” Kwatra said.
He further said that New Delhi flagged the issue of increasing "pro-Khalistan" members in Canada and the security concerns around it.
“As far as Canada is concerned, we have been having consistent conversation with all our partners and our position on this matter has been explained in full detail at multiple occasions. We have core security concerns and I am sure you are all aware of the recent video that has surfaced from one such individual - Gurpatwant Singh Pannun - which presents very serious security concerns. We have made our position very clear to our friends and partners and I think they understand and appreciate the sense of where India comes from,” Kwatra said.
Kwatra further said that the ministerial talks underlined US and India’s engagement towards security chain securitisation, space partnership and fighting terrorism.
US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin On 2+2 Meet
US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said that New Delhi and Washington were expanding their partnership on sectors including clean energy, artificial intelligence, and semiconductors.
“In terms of MQ-9B drones, I have no new announcement to make today. We will announce that at the right time. We are doing everything so that India gets this capability. But we are going to co-produce an armoured vehicle. The scope of our cooperation is vast, it stretches from the sea to space,” Austin said.
Talking about attacks on American bases in the Middle East, Austin said, "The safety of our people is our priority. We cannot predict or project when we are going to strike. We will do this at a time of our choosing. Attacks on our targets and people must stop.”
Notably, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Minister of External Affairs S. Jaishankar hosted US Secretary of State Antony J Blinken and Secretary of Defence Lloyd J Austin in the 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue in New Delhi on Friday.