2+2 meet to focus on security and info sharing

The India- US 2+ 2 ministerial dialogue next week will focus on regional security cooperation and defence information-sharing so that the two sides can operate more cohesively in dealing with regional challenges, senior American officials said on Saturday.

The meeting will also focus on global cooperation, including public health collaboration to cope with Covid- 19, economic cooperation, working together in the Indo- Pacific, and people- topeople ties, two senior US administration officials said during a background briefing.

External affairs minister S Jaishankar and defence minister Rajnath Singh are scheduled to meet their US counterparts Mike Pompeo and Mark Esper in New Delhi on October 27 for the third edition of the 2+ 2 dialogue.

American officials have noted that the decision by the US leaders to visit India in- person amid the pandemic and just a week ahead of the presidential election reflects the importance attached to ties with India.

One of the officials said there is no reason to believe the US’S policy for India will change if there is a new administration after the November 3 election.

India and the US are widely expected to sign the Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement (BECA), one of four so-called foundational pacts to facilitate sharing of classified satellite and sensor data, during the meeting.

“We’ve made significant progress towards concluding the last foundational defence enabling agreement... the BECA. This agreement will allow for expanded geospatial information sharing between our armed forces. We are also seeking to expand secure communication capabilities between our respective militaries as well as between our foreign and defence ministries,” the official said.

The US is also building greater military interoperability with India by increasing the sophistication of combined exercises, and it has placed a liaison officer at India’s Information Fusion Center for the Indian Ocean to enhance coordination and informationsharing between the navies. “We also hope to confirm two additional Indian liaison officer placements in the near term to expand counterterrorism cooperation,” the official said.