New Delhi, Sep 2 (PTI) Senior officials of India and the US took stock of progress in bilateral cooperation in areas of defence, public health and economy, besides reviewing preparations for the next edition of 2+2 ministerial dialogue.
The officials held the deliberations under the framework of 2+2 inter-sessional meeting in Washington DC on Wednesday.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said the two sides exchanged assessments about recent developments in South Asia, the Indo-Pacific region and the Western Indian Ocean.
It said the meeting reviewed the progress made since the last 2+2 ministerial dialogue in October 2020 and preparations for it later this year.
The third edition of 2+2 foreign and defence ministerial dialogue had taken place in India last year and the fourth one is slated to be held in Washington.
"Both sides took stock of the progress and developments in the bilateral agenda under the India-US strategic partnership, including defence, global public health, economic and commercial cooperation, science and technology, clean energy and climate finance, and people to people ties," the MEA said in a statement.
"They explored opportunities for enhancing ongoing cooperation in these fields based on mutual interests. Cooperation in contemporary areas such as space, cyber security and emerging technologies was also discussed," it added.
"The officials had an opportunity to exchange assessments about recent developments in South Asia, the Indo-Pacific region and Western Indian Ocean, given their shared vision for peace, stability and prosperity and for a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific region," the MEA said.
The Indian delegation at the meeting was led jointly by Vani Rao, Joint Secretary (Americas) in the MEA and Somnath Ghosh, Joint Secretary (International Cooperation) in the Ministry of Defence.
The US delegation was led by Assistant Secretary of Defence for Indo-Pacific Affairs Ely Ratner alongside Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs in the Department of State Ervin Massinga.
