Sushma, Nirmala hold talks with U.S. counterparts ahead of 2+2 dialogue

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Secretary of Defence James Mattis pose beside India’s External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman before the start of their meeting in New Delhi on September 6, 2018.

Ahead of the inaugural 2+2 dialogue, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman held separate meetings on Thursday with U.S. Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo and Defence Secretary James Mattis respectively.

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Official sources said a number of key bilateral issues were to be discussed during the meetings.

Both Mr. Pompeo and Mr. Mattis arrived in New Delhi on Wednesday for the inaugural Indo-U.S. 2+2 talks, which was finalised during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Washington in 2017.

In a special gesture, Ms. Swaraj received Secretary Pompeo at the airport in New Delhi on September 5 while Ms. Sitharaman welcomed Secretary Mattis, reflecting the importance India attaches to their visit.

The focus of the 2+2 talks is to deepen global strategic partnership between the two countries and resolve differences over India’s defence engagement with Russia and crude oil import from Iran.