India, US 2+2 dialogue to take place in November: Foreign Secretary

The 2+2 dialogue between India and the United States would be held in November later this year, Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said on Friday.

“We’re looking at the 2+2 which will happen in November. The exact dates are not yet worked out,” Shringla told Indian reporters. This came after he had a meeting with the top officials of Joe Biden’s administration, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken, during his three-day visit to Washington DC. 

“We used this opportunity to have the 2+2 inter-sessional meeting at the joint secretary level,” he said. After the last 2+2 meeting held in New Delhi, the next is scheduled to be hosted by the US in Washington. 

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh would be hosted by their American counterparts Secretary of State Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin for the maiden India-US 2+2 meeting of the Biden administration.

While there were talks on Afghanistan, India and the US had extensive discussion on regional and multilateral issues, including the United Nations and the upcoming Quadrilateral summit this year. “US Special Envoy on Climate Change John Kerry is also scheduled to visit India soon,” he said.

US India Strategic and Partnership Forum and US India Business Council organised a meeting between foreign secretary and industry representatives on Friday. “We covered a very wide range of issues of interest to them,” he said. 

He added, “They were very interested in India’s handling of the COVID-19 situation, the vaccine issue, economic recovery in India, economic opportunities and the investment situation in the country.”

Shringla arrived in Washington DC on Wednesday after his successful trip to New York. The trip saw him chair meetings of the United Nations Security Council. India was the president of the 15-member body for August.