The next
round of the 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue between India and the United States will
likely take place in November, with the two countries also slated to hold a
Defence Policy Group (DPG) meeting soon, news agency ANI reported quoting
sources.

Finance
Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and defence secretary Ajay Kumar are slated to visit
the United States, where they will hold a series of engagements, the sources
told ANI. The two countries are also expected to hold a counter-terrorism and designation
dialogue soon.

The third annual
2+2 Ministerial Dialogue between India and the US was held in New Delhi in October
last year. Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Secretary of Defence Mike
Esper visited the national capital, where they held discussions with Defence
Minsiter Rajnath Singh and Minister of External Affairs S. Jaishankar.

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India and
the United States also held a bilateral 2+2 Inter-sessional meeting at the
official level on September 1 this year in Washington DC.

The DPG is
the highest official-level meeting between India’s Ministry of Defence and the
American Department of Defense, with the two countries using it as a mechanism
to review and guide all aspects of defence cooperation between them.

This comes
after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the US last month to participate
in the first in-person Quad meeting and addressing the United Nations General Assembly.
The Prime Minister also held a bilateral meeting with US President Joe Biden
during his visit to the US.

A
joint-statement after the meeting said that Biden reaffirmed the strength of
the defence relationship between India and the US. He also spoke about the US’ unwavering
commitment to India as a Major Defence Partner through close defence engagements
in information sharing, sharing of logistics and military interactions.

New Delhi and
Washington are also strengthening co-operation in advanced military
technologies as well as expanding engagements in a multilateral framework
including with regional partners.