The U.S. and India are “forging deeper, stronger bonds between our two nations,” Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo said December 18.
Alongside U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper, Pompeo hosted Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and Defense Minister Rajnath Singh at the State Department.
The growing relationship is the “basis for my hope for a new age of ambition between our two democracies,” Pompeo said, praising new agreements on space exploration, a new legislator exchange program, defense industrial collaboration and a new program for young innovators.
It is “heartening to note that as the world’s largest democracies, we have convergence on views” on a range of bilateral and global issues, Singh said. He noted the two countries have excellent cooperation in science, technology and defense innovation.
The meeting is known as the U.S.-India 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue. It brings together the U.S. secretaries of state and defense and the Indian ministers of external affairs and defense. It followed a meeting between President Trump and Prime Minister Modi earlier this year in Houston, and Pompeo’s visit to New Delhi over the summer.
The U.S. and #India have shared interests in economic prosperity through trade, investment, and connectivity. In 2018, bilateral trade between our nations was $142 billion, up 13% from the prior year. We look forward to continuing our strong partnership with India. #USIndia pic.twitter.com/8kr88HKXT3
— Department of State (@StateDept) December 18, 2019
In November, for the first time, the three Indian military services trained alongside the U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps, in the inaugural Tiger Triumph exercise. In May, and also for the first time, the navies of India and the United States, Japan and the Philippines conducted a group sail in the South China Sea.