There were 2+2 diplomatic talks between India and America, from India Defense Minister Rajnath Singh and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had reached America to attend the meeting. There was a meeting between Indian PM Narendra Modi and US President Joe Biden through video conferencing. India and the US have discussed expanding their bilateral understanding in areas such as defence cooperation, space and cyberspace. Both countries have spoken of jointly strengthening their military to meet the emerging challenges around the world.
India and the US also discussed strategic cooperation between the countries on issues ranging from Indo-Pacific to the Russia-Ukraine war.
“They also agreed to launch an inaugural defence artificial intelligence dialogue, expand joint cyber training and exercises,” said the readout, which was heavy on defence and strategic cooperation. The keyword “strategic cooperation” was used multiple times in the readout by the Pentagon.
The United States and India finalise major bilateral initiatives on information-sharing, contact exchange and joint service engagement to support high-end, joint operations.
“They agreed to maintain close consultation on the ongoing crisis in Ukraine, including humanitarian aid efforts, and echo support for an independent investigation into the brutal violence deployed against civilians in Bucha,” the readout said.
We are here to help them diversify their means of importing oil, President Biden said. India’s imports from the US are much bigger than those from Russia: White House said that Biden was seeking a promise from PM Modi that he would not increase discounted oil purchases from Russia.
India condemned the civilian killings in the Ukrainian city of Bucha. India supported the call for an independent investigation, provided more than 90 tons of humanitarian relief material to Ukraine and its neighbour, and used its resources to evacuate about 150 foreign nationals from 18 countries: White House Press Secretary.
In a joint statement on the 4th India-US 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue, the ministers categorically condemned the civilian casualties in Ukraine and called for an immediate end to hostilities.
India was hoping to get an exemption under the CATSAA Act created under Trump’s administration. However, Secretary of State Antony Blinken categorically stated that the US has not yet taken any decision regarding granting immunity to India under the CATSAA act.
India is looking forward to its defence imports from Russia, mainly the S400 missile defence system. An exemption from CATSAA would have helped India with its imports of the S400 missile defence system.
