US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defense Minister Mark T Esper will arrive in New Delhi on Monday for a ‘2+2’ ministerial meeting amidst the ongoing border dispute with China in Ladakh. This meeting, which takes place a week before the US elections, is considered very important for both the countries. On behalf of India, Foreign Minister S Jaishankar and Defense Minister Rajnath Singh will be part of this meeting.
Before leaving for India, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo tweeted, ‘My journey to India, Sri Lanka, Maldives and Indonesia has started. I am grateful for this opportunity to join our partners to promote a shared vision in the Indo Pacific region composed of independent, strong and prosperous nations. ‘
A number of important bilateral, regional and global issues will be discussed during this third edition of the 2 + 2 Dialogue, including China’s growing interference in the Indo-Pacific region and its aggressive attitude along the Line of Actual Control in East Ladakh.
There is going to be a historic agreement between the two countries in this meeting. The Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement for Geospatial Cooperation (BECA) will be signed at the 2 + 2 meeting. It had been trying for a long time. BECA along with the US will provide India with very accurate geospatial data which can be used best in the military.
