India, US 2+2 meet reviews progress of defence ties

India and the US reviewed the progress of their cooperation in the fields of defence, security and foreign policy during the bilateral 2+2 Inter-sessional meeting in Monterey, California.

The Indian delegation was led jointly by Gourangalal Das, Joint Secretary in Ministry of External Affairs and V. Anandarajan, Joint Secretary in Ministry of Defence. The US delegation was led jointly by Ambassador Alice Wells, Acting Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs and Randall Schriver, Assistant Secretary of Defence for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs.

On Thursday, the two sides reviewed the progress and development of bilateral relations in cross-cutting defence, security, and foreign policy areas since the inaugural 2+2 Ministerial meeting of September 2018, and explored further possibilities of cooperation in these fields based on common interest. 

They also discussed regional developments, and agreed to pursue their quest for a free, open, inclusive, peaceful and prosperous Indo-Pacific.

The Inter-sessional meeting mechanism was set up pursuant to the 2+2 Ministerial. The two sides agreed to carry forward these discussions. IANS