Washington DC: Meeting senior executives of American aerospace and defence majors Boeing and Raytheon, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh asked them to take advantage of policy initiatives in India to steadily march from ‘Make in India’ towards ‘Make for the World’.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh along with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar arrived in the US capital on April 10 to attend the India-US 2+2 ministerial dialogue in Washington on April 11 – the first under the Biden administration.
The 2+2 ministerial dialogue being held under the shadow of the Ukrainian crisis, is reflective of the significance the two governments attach to this bilateral strategic relationship. In fact, President Biden has signalled to elevate the 2+2 ministerial by himself having a virtual meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi from the White House on April 11. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin hosted Jaishankar and Singh for the 2+2 ministerial.
The two Indian ministers along with their American counterparts participated in the virtual meeting from the White House. The 2+2 ministerial along with the respective delegations took place at the State Department on April 11 afternoon.
The 2+2 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, the Ministry of External Affairs said in a press release.
“The 2+2 Dialogue will also provide an opportunity to exchange views about important regional and global developments and how we can work together to address issues of common interest and concern,” it said.
The 2+2 Ministerial is an important opportunity to advance our shared objectives across the breadth of the US-India Strategic Partnership, the State Department said last week. It is also a chance to highlight the growing Major Defence Partnership between the United States and India, it said on the importance of the meeting.
