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US State Dept reschedules first ever Two-plus-Two dialogue with India

On Friday, the State Department announced that the inaugural ‘two-plus-two dialogue’ between India and the US which would be held on September 6 in New Delhi. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defence Secretary James Mattis are expected to arrive for the visit, reported PTI.

State Department Spokesperson Heather Nauert, in a statement, said,“The United States is pleased to announce that the inaugural US-India ‘2+2 dialogue’ will be held in New Delhi, India, on September 6.” Both secretaries expressed their eagerness to meet their Indian counterparts, Indian Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj and Indian Minister of Defence Nirmala Sitharaman.

Both parties of the two countries would discuss “strengthening strategic, security and defence cooperation” as the US and India jointly address challenges in the Indo-Pacific region and beyond.

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In 2017, the 2+2 dialogue had first been announced during Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi’s meeting with President Donald Trump at the White House. Last month, the scheduled talks had been postponed by the US due to ‘unavoidable reasons’.

“U.S. Secretary of State Pompeo spoke to External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj a short while ago to express his regret and deep disappointment at the U.S. having to postpone the 2+2 Dialogue for unavoidable reasons,” said Raveesh Kumar, Official Spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs in a late evening message on his social media account.

“Secretary Pompeo sought External Affairs Minister Swaraj’s understanding and they agreed to identify new mutually convenient dates to hold the dialogues at the earliest in India or the U.S.,” he added.

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