India to host inaugural 2+2 Dialogue with US in September 2018

 Strengthening of security & strategic ties will be the aim

• India is going to host the inaugural 2+2 Dialogue with the United States in September 2018 in New Delhi.
• In the inaugural meeting, Minister of External Affairs (MEA) Sushma Swaraj and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will host US Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo and US Secretary of Defence James Mattis.

Agenda of the meeting:

• The inaugural meeting will cover broad range of bilateral, regional and global issues of shared interest, with a view to strengthening strategic and security ties between the two countries.
• Both nations will discuss strengthening of strategic, security and defence cooperation as both nations have committed to jointly address challenges in the Indo-Pacific region and beyond.
• The dialogue is seen as a vehicle to elevate strategic relationship between the two countries.

Important to note:

• The inaugural 2+2 dialogue was scheduled to be held in July 2018, but was postponed at the last moment by US citing “unavoidable reasons”.
• It was the third time that 2+2 dialogue was postponed in the last six months.

About the 2+2 Dialogue:

• 2+2 Dialogue between India and US was agreed during visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to US in June, 2017.
• It is similar to the India-Japan 2+2 dialogue format between foreign and defence secretaries and ministers of the two countries.
• It replaces the earlier India-US Strategic and Commercial Dialogue.
• The dialogue is aimed at enhancing strategic coordination between both countries and maintaining peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region.
• It puts strategic, defence and security relationship between the two countries at the forefront and centre stage.
• It insulates India-US strategic relationship from feuds over trade issues and deep divide on economic integration policies and trade & commercial issues that collided with strategic relationship between both the countries discussed in Strategic and Commercial Dialogue earlier.

Questions:

Q1. What is the inaugural dialogue between India and U.S called?
2+2
3+3
2+1
1+1

Q2. Where will the inaugural dialogue take place?
New York
New Jersey
New Delhi
None of the above