Antony Blinken, Lloyd Austin to visit New Delhi next week for ‘2+2’ dialogue

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will travel to New Delhi next week for the ‘2+2’ meeting with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, according to the U.S. State Department. The group of Ministers will discuss “both bilateral and global concerns and developments in the Indo-Pacific” the State Department said.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will travel to New Delhi next week for the ‘2+2’ meeting with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, according to the U.S. State Department.

The group of Ministers will discuss “both bilateral and global concerns and developments in the Indo-Pacific” the State Department said. Mr. Blinken’s visit to New Delhi is part of a larger November 2-10 trip to Tel Aviv, Amman, Tokyo and Seoul. The New Delhi visit is expected to take place November 9 -10.

Next week’s meeting is the fifth annual dialogue in this format and the first after Israel and Hamas’s latest round of fighting, a topic which is likely going to occupy some of the discussion. Other subjects are likely to include Ukraine and Russia and the reform of international financial institutions like the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) - one of India’s priorities as the outgoing president of the G20.

This 2+2 is also the first meeting since diplomatic relations soured between India and Canada , an ally and neighbour of the U.S., over allegations that the government was behind the killing of a Canadian Khalistani separatist leader in British Columbia. The falling out between Ottawa and New Delhi and left Washington in an awkward position as it tries to balance its commitments and interests with both countries. Washington has urged India to cooperate in Canada’s investigation into the killing.

The meetings in New Delhi are also expected to cover China and the South Asian neighbourhood — where there have been a number of recent developments. For instance, the September election in the Maldives of president-elect Mohamed Muizzu, who wants to loosen ties with India. There are also differences between Washington and New Delhi in their approach to Sheikh Hasina’s government in Bangladesh — particularly responses to concerns over the conduct of elections in January 2024. Past discussions have also included Pakistan, Afghanistan and other countries in the neighbourhood and next week’s talks will likely get into these topics.

In the defence space, the two sides discussed the implementation of the Roadmap for U.S.-India Defense Industrial Cooperation during their intercessional meeting in Washington in September. This is likely to continue in New Delhi next week. The U.S. and India have also been negotiating Security of Supply Arrangement and the Reciprocal Defense Procurement agreement. India is also moving forward with a purchase of 31 MQ-9B Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, with the countries hoping to finalise the deal by February 2024.

During Mr. Jaishankar’s visit to Washington in late September, his talks with his American counterpart had been framed partly around initiatives announced during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s state visit to Washington DC in June — and the ‘2+2’ is likely to see a continuation of this.