U.S. and India Discuss Bilateral, Regional Issues Ahead of 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue

Senior officials from both India and the United States exchanged views on a range of regional issues of shared interest and discussed new opportunities to strengthen bilateral ties, ahead of their 2+2 dialogue to be held later this month.

Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Affairs Dr. Ely Ratner co-chaired the fifth U.S. – India 2+2 Intercessional Dialogue, Sept. 1, alongside Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Ervin Massinga, Joint Secretary Somnath Ghosh of the Indian Ministry of Defense, and Joint Secretary Vani Rao of the Indian Ministry of External Affairs.

The Dialogue spanned the U.S. – India comprehensive global strategic partnership, including climate, public health, defense, trade, technology and governance.

The officials also spoke about their commitment to achieve greater interoperability between the U.S. and Indian militaries on the foundation of several defense agreements. They discussed bilateral and multilateral joint service engagements, as well as ways to advance cooperation in new domains, such as space, cyber, and emerging technology areas. Discussions also drove progress toward operationalizing key bilateral initiatives on information-sharing, logistics, defense industrial cooperation, and joint doctrine engagement through liaison exchanges.

Building on growing bilateral ties, U.S. and Indian officials discussed new opportunities to strengthen multilateral cooperation between the United States, India, and other like-minded partners.

U.S. and Indian officials exchanged views on a range of regional issues of shared interest, including in South Asia, East and Southeast Asia, and the Western Indian Ocean, and identified opportunities for enhanced cooperation on maritime security, regional connectivity, counterterrorism and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.

Today’s Intercessional laid the groundwork for a fruitful 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue in the coming months, as the United States and India work together to sustain a free, open, inclusive and prosperous Indo-Pacific region. Assistant Secretary Ratner expressed his confidence that the United States and India will continue to take their partnership to new heights as they jointly meet the challenges of this century.