WASHINGTON: US President Joe Biden expects that the Indo-US two-plus-two Ministerial here on Monday will drive forward his administration’s work with India and their “shared goals” in the Indo-Pacific region and have “close consultations” on the war in Ukraine, the White House has said.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin are all set to host their Indian counterparts External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh for the 2+2 Ministerial on April 11.
This is the first such meeting between the two countries under the Biden Administration.
The two Indian leaders are expected to arrive in Washington DC over the weekend.
“We also believe both sides will continue our close consultations on the consequences of President (Vladimir) Putin’s brutal war against Ukraine and mitigating the impact by addressing energy and food prices. Obviously, it could cover a range of topics, but we expect that to be a central one,” White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters at her daily news conference on Friday.
There has been some disquiet in Washington over India’s position on the Ukraine crisis as well as its decision to procure discounted Russian oil.
Asserting that India is strongly against the Russia-Ukraine conflict as no solution can be arrived at by shedding blood, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Wednesday said that if New Delhi has chosen a side, it is the side of peace and an immediate end to violence.
India on Thursday abstained from the United Nations General Assembly voting on Russia’s suspension from the UN Human Rights Council.
The 193-member UN General Assembly voted to suspend Russia, a veto-wielding Security Council member, from the Geneva-based top human rights body over allegations that Russian soldiers killed civilians while retreating from towns near the Ukrainian capital Kyiv.
The United States and Ukraine have alleged that the Russian forces may have committed war crimes in the Eastern European country.
“President Biden believes our partnership with India is one of the most important relationships we have in the world. As you know, he met with Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi and other Quad leaders in March,” the White House Press Secretary said.
“He (Biden) expects that at this 2+2, Secretary Blinken and Secretary Austin, will continue driving forward our work with India and our shared goals in the Indo-Pacific region and around the world,” Psaki said.
India, the US and several other world powers have been talking about the need to ensure a free, open and thriving Indo-Pacific in the backdrop of China’s rising military manoeuvring in the region.
China claims nearly all of the disputed South China Sea, though Taiwan, the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia and Vietnam all claim parts of it.
Beijing has built artificial islands and military installations in the South China Sea.
India on Thursday said the ‘2+2′ dialogue with the US will provide an opportunity to exchange views on important regional and global developments and how both sides can work together to address common interests and concerns.
“The dialogue would enable both sides to undertake a comprehensive review of cross-cutting issues in the India-US bilateral agenda related to foreign policy, defence and security with the objective of providing strategic guidance and vision for further consolidating the relationship,” Arindam Bagchi, the Spokesperson in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in New Delhi.
The Pentagon on Thursday said this year’s 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue will span the full breadth of the partnership – including defence, science and technology cooperation, climate, public health, and people-to-people ties, it said.
Since its inception in 2018, the 2+2 Ministerial has allowed the US and India to work toward building an advanced, comprehensive defence partnership that is poised to meet the challenges of the 21st century, it said.
Meanwhile, Congressman Mark Green met India’s Ambassador to the US, Taranjit Singh Sandhu.
“Met with India’s Ambassador to the United States Taranjit Singh Sandhu this week. Our countries’ strong partnership is critical. Grateful for the opportunity to reaffirm the US-India relationship,” he said in a tweet. —PTI

Press Trust of India