India and US to hold maiden 2+2 dialogue in Delhi on September six

The Ministry of External Affairs said External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will host the US Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo and U.S. Secretary of Defence James Mattis.

This new dialogue format is in pursuit of the agreement reached between India and the U.S. during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Washington D.C. on 25-26 June 2017.

"The 2+2 meeting will cover a broad range of bilateral, regional and global issues of shared interest, with a view to strengthening strategic and security ties between the two countries," MEA spokesperson Ravish Kumar said in response to media queries.

The last time this meeting was scheduled to be held was on July six  But in late June, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called up Swaraj to tell her that the two sides would reschedule the talks in the coming months. This marked the second time that the meeting was postponed. Originally, the talks were slated for 18 April but had to be called off after the exit of the then Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.

According to media reports,  Washington and New Delhi want to iron out some bilateral issues in the relationship that included US sanctions on Iran and their impact on India as well as the consequences of the Countering America’s Adversaries through Sanctions Act.

The two sides also have a host of other issues that include countering China’s influence in Asia and deepening their cooperation in matters of security. There are also prickly issues on the trade front given India raising tariffs on some US products in retaliation for the United States hiking duties on steel and aluminium, the report noted.