The White House on Wednesday (local time) referred to India as America's 'key strategic partner' ahead of US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin's arrival in New Delhi on Thursday for the India-US 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue here.
In a regular press briefing, US National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby, while speaking on India's stand on the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, said that the US will leave it to the Indian government and Prime Minister Narendra Modi to decide their stance.
"India is a key strategic partner. And I think you saw that on full display when Prime Minister Modi was here... We'll leave it to the Indian government and the Prime Minister to decide, what their stance is gonna be on any particular crisis or contingency around the world, to include the Middle East, but they remain a key strategic partner, and we're dedicated to advancing that partnership, every single day," he said.
Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin to visit India today
This comes as Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin is set to arrive in New Delhi today for a two-day trip, while US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will arrive tomorrow to co-chair the 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue alongside Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.
After his arrival, Austin will be welcomed with a tri-service Guard of Honour at the Palam Technical Area. The US Secretaries will co-chair the dialogue, which will be followed up by a bilateral meeting between Austin and Rajnath Singh, according to the Ministry of Defence.
He has already departed for India from the Joint Base Andrews in Maryland. Following his visit to India, he will also travel to South Korea and Indonesia, marking his ninth visit to the Indo-Pacific region.
Austin's last visit to India was in June 2023 when he met the Indian Defence Minister. He is expected to discuss a number of strategic, defence and technology issues during the 2+2 dialogue and the bilateral meeting with his Indian counterpart.
India-US 2+2 Dialogue
The 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue is a diplomatic summit held every year since 2018, with the Minister of External Affairs and the Defence Minister representing India and the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Defence representing the United States.
This year, India and the US will take stock of contemporary regional issues and exchange views about shared priorities for augmenting cooperation in multilateral platforms, and through frameworks such as the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue.
The Indian and US representatives will discuss opportunities to progress the futuristic roadmap for the India-US partnership as envisioned by PM Modi and US President Joe Biden, in their discussions in June and September this year.
The first India-US 2+2 dialogue was held in 2018 under the administration of former US President Donald Trump. This year, the US side is also expected to push for military hardware cooperation while India is likely to ask for the sharing of high-end technology for developing indigenous weapon systems during the ministerial, sources told news agency ANI.
(with inputs from ANI)
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