EAM Jaishankar meets US' Antony Blinken; focus on regional, bilateral and global issues

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met United States Secretary Antony Blinken ahead of the 2+2 dialogue, at a breakfast meeting on April 11, Monday. The leaders deliberated on a range of issues, including global developments, regional hotspots and bilateral matters. Dr. Jaishankar tweeted a photo, wherein he is seen with US State Secretary Blinken. 

PM Modi condemns Bucha Killings

In a bilateral dialogue between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Joe Biden, PM Modi condemned the Bucha killings and urged for an impartial probe. PM Modi said, "Recent news of the killing of innocent citizens in Bucha city was a matter of concern. We immediately condemned it and also demanded an impartial probe. We hope that through the talks between Russia and Ukraine, a path for peace would come out."

PM Modi said that India and USA are natural partners. Praising the swift pace of bilateral co-operation attained by the two nations in the last few years, PM Narendra Modi stated that the progress achieved by both nations in the last few years was hard to imagine even few decades back.

"As two democracies that are the world's largest (India) and oldest (US), we are natural partners and the progress that has taken place in our relations in the last few years, the new momentum that has been created has been hard to even imagine a few decades ago," PM Modi said at a virtual interaction with the US President Joe Biden ahead of the 2+2 India-US ministerial dialogue.

India and USA to hold 2+2 dialogue

After five years of deliberations, the two countries as a part of the 2+2 dialogue will sign the Space Situational Awareness (SSA) Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), to share data about the threats posed to the space satellites belonging to both nations. According to the MoU, USA will provide data about the space debris and other objects in Space, followed by information on how can it potentially jeopardise India's current and upcoming space programmes and assets. 

The 2+2 dialogue with USA puts the strategic, defence and security relationships at the forefront for both countries. Apart from USA, India holds similar dialogues with Russia, Australia and Japan. According to the format, the External Affairs Minister and the Defence Minister of India meets with the contemporaries from USA and aforementioned nations.

Image: Twitter/@DrSJaishankar