Pompeo to attend US-India 2+2 dialogue in New Delhi next week

New Delhi, Oct 21 : New Delhi will be hosting the third India-US 2+2 ministerial level dialogue on October 27, amidst deteriorating relations with China.
The US-India 2+2 talks, just weeks ahead of the US presidential elections, are significant in view of the standoff between India and China along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh and Cold War-like tensions between the US and China.
The ministry of external affairs in a statement on Wednesday said that India-U.S. 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue hosted by New Delhi will be attended by US Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo and Secretary of Defence Mark T. Esper during their two-day visit on October 26 and 27.
From the Indian side, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar will lead the delegations from their respective ministries.
The first two 2+2 Ministerial dialogues were held in New Delhi in September 2018 and in Washington DC in 2019. The agenda for the third Dialogue will cover all bilateral, regional and global issues of mutual interest, the statement said.
The US state department’s spokesperson Morgan Ortagus in a statement said that Secretary Pompeo will travel to New Delhi, India; Colombo, Sri Lanka; Malé, Maldives; and Jakarta, Indonesia from October 25 to 30.