New Delhi, (Asian independent) US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who arrived in the national capital on Monday for the third India-US 2+2 ministerial dialogue, followed up with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on their Tokyo discussions on the Quad formulation to counter Chinese aggression.
Official sources told IANS that it was a “warm and productive meeting” where the two sides “followed up on their Tokyo discussions and focussed on key bilateral, regional and global issues”.
The two leaders discussed their Indo-Pacific engagement and the Quad deliberations, sources said. They discussed maritime security, counter-terrorism, open connectivity and “resilient supply chains” to counter the global over dependence on China.
Both sides exchanged views on the current global situation and its contemporary challenges and discussed their shared concerns and interests including stability and security in Asia, and how best that can be ensured.
Sources said Pompeo shared with Jaishankar, the Trump administration’s thinking on Afghanistan. The EAM highlighted that India’s stakes and its continuing concern that decisions should be made by Afghans themselves without use of force. He also made clear that cross-border terrorism was completely unacceptable.
The Secretary of the State and the minister also discussed multilateral consultations and cooperation in the context of India’s forthcoming UNSC membership.
Pompeo and Jaishankar reviewed progress in bilateral ties over last four years and expressed satisfaction that they have grown in virtually every domain including trade, energy, defence and education, sources said.
The practice of consultations on foreign policy issues has also expanded at both regional and multilateral level, the two sides acknowledged.
Sources said Jaishankar stressed the uniqueness of Indian technology and talent flow in his discussion with Pompeo. He also underlined that a knowledge economy with greater data sensitivity makes an even stronger case for collaboration between India and the US. An innovative partnership is central to the bilateral future, he told Pompeo adding that “policies must be accordingly supportive”.
