‘India, US Building Future Together’: Blinken, Jaishankar Kick Off Fifth Edition of 2+2 Meeting

US secretary of state Antony Blinken and Union minister of external affairs S Jaishankar met on Friday in New Delhi for the fifth edition of the India-US 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue.

The external affairs minister said the meeting was significant and thanked the US for its continued support to India throughout India’s G20 presidency.

“We had a very successful G20 Summit in September, and I do want to thank you, the US government and President Biden on behalf of Prime Minister Modi, because I think without the strong support which the US gave us, I don’t think we would have got the consensus and the outcomes that we did,” Jaishankar said.

“We have not only the strongest bilateral partnership we’ve ever had, but also a regional one, and indeed, a global one that was further evidenced by India’s leadership for the G20 this year. We have a lot to do, including with our defence colleagues. I think it’s further evidence of our resolute focus for the United States on the Indo-Pacific, our region for the future, the future is actually now, and we’re building it together with India,” Blinken said in response, according to news agency ANI.

US defence secretary Lloyd Austin also reached New Delhi on Thursday and was greeted by counterpart Rajnath Singh. They discussed measures to bolster India-US defence cooperation.

“India is a country that we have a deep partnership with. Deepening security cooperation in partnership, will be one of the many topics that will be discussed,” the US State Department’s Principal Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel said ahead of the meeting.

Donald Lu, the top US diplomat for South and Central Asia, said that the meeting will try to encourage more collaboration between both nations to encourage defence equipment production.

“Our intention is to encourage more collaboration to produce world-class defence equipment to meet Indian defence needs and contribute to greater global security,” Lu told news agency AFP.

Blinken and Jaishankar will also discuss developments in West Asia in the wake of the 2023 Israel-Hamas war. India said that it stands in solidarity with Israel and has condemned Hamas but also stood by its policy on Palestine and called for a two-state solution.

Stability in West Asia is also important because of the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor as the conflict in Gaza poses a major challenge to hopes of a key trade and transport route linking Europe, the Middle East and India, unveiled during G20 talks in Delhi in September.

“With India, we share the goals of preventing this conflict from spreading, preserving stability in the Middle East, and advancing a two-state solution”, Lu added, according to the news agency.

Lu also said border tensions between India and China will also be discussed and said the US is keen to know where things stand. He said the US is interested in the issue because it is committed to a free and open Indo-Pacific.

“We will be interested to hear how India’s discussions with China are going related to border issues. One of the many discussion points will be our cooperation with India to keep the Indo-Pacific free, open, prosperous, and secure,” Lu said, adding that the war in Ukraine will also be on the agenda.