After his visit to India for 2+2 Ministerial dialogue, US Defence Secretary Mark Esper on Wednesday said that the partnership between India and the United States was one of the most consequential partnerships of the 21st century and thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his leadership as both the nations are working together for an inclusive Indo-Pacific region.
In a series of tweets, Esper said that he was happy to participate in 2+2 Ministerial for the second time.
"Happy to participate in my second 2+2 Ministerial with India's Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Foreign Minister S Jaishankar," he wrote. Emphasising on the issues that were discussed during the meeting, the US Defence Secretary said: "The US-India partnership is one of the most consequential of the 21st century and we discussed key priorities to expand mil-to-mil cooperation, information-sharing, and interoperability in line with our Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership."
He further talked about his meeting with Prime Minister Modi and National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval.
"Honored to meet with Prime Minister @narendramodi. Thank you for your leadership as the United States and India work to advance a free, open, and inclusive Indo-Pacific region," he said.
"Great to meet with National Security Advisor Doval alongside Secretary Pompeo. We affirmed the importance of our Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership, and the importance of continuing to work closely on regional security issues," said Esper in another tweet.
Jaishankar, US State Secretary Mike Pompeo, Esper took part in the third 2+2 dialogue between the two countries on Tuesday.
The ministers welcomed efforts to rejuvenate and expand bilateral India-US trade in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. In this regard, they noted ongoing discussions by the United States Trade Representative and India's Ministry of Commerce and Industry to reach an understanding on improving market access, removing barriers to trade, and improving the business environment.
India and US signed five key agreements during the 2+2 ministerial-level dialogue including Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement (BECA) which will allow India real-time access to precision data and topographical images from the United States military satellites.
( With inputs from ANI )
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