US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defence secretary Mark Esper arrived in the national capital on 26 October for 2+2 ministerial dialogue with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.
The visit comes at a time when India and China are locked in a serious military conflict along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Eastern Ladakh.
The timing of the secretaries' visit also holds significance as America is going into the presidential election next week on 3 November.
Stay with livemint.com to get latest updates on India-US 2+2 Ministerial talks.
Key updates on India, US 2+2 ministerial dialogue:
1) Our leaders and citizens see with increasing clarity that Chinese Communist Party is no friend to democracy, rule of law, transparency... I'm glad to say India & US are taking all steps to strengthen cooperation against all threats & not just those posed by CCP: Mike Pompeo
3) US and India are taking steps to strengthen our cooperation against all manner of threats and not just those posed by Chinese Communist Party. Last year, we have expanded our cooperation on cyber issues, our navies have held joint exercises in Indian ocean, Pompeo said.
4) We visited National War Memorial to honour brave men and women of Indian armed forces who sacrificed for the world's largest democracy, including 20 killed by PLA in Galwan Valley. US will stand with India as they confront threats to their sovereignty, liberty: Mike Pompeo
5) On Indo-Pacific region was the main focus of our talks, Jaishankar said: "The Indo Pacific region was the particular focus of our talks. We reiterated the importance of stability and peace and prosperity for all countries in this region. Discussions also covered developments in our neighbouring countries. We made clear that cross border terrorism is completely unacceptable."
6) As the world confronts a global pandemic and growing security challenges, the India-US partnership is more important than ever to ensure security, stability and prosperity of the region and the world, says US Secretary of Defence, Mark Esper.
7) Based on our shared values and common interests, we stand shoulder-to-shoulder in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific for all, particularly in light of increasing aggression and destabilising activities by China: Mark Esper
8) On agreeing to rules-based international order, Rajnath Singh said: We also agreed that upholding rules-based international order respecting rule of law and freedom of navigation in the international sea and uploading territorial integrity and sovereignty of all states are essential.
9) Our military to military cooperation is progressing very well. In two days meeting, we also explored probable capacity building and other joint cooperation activities in third countries including our neighbourhood and beyond, Singh said.
10) I thank the secretaries and US delegation to visit India. We need to recover the economies quickly. We discussed some bilateral issues and signed key defence pact, BECA today, says Rajnath Singh.
