Foreign minister Sushma Swaraj and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman held the first high-level 2+2 talks with their US counterparts Mike Pompeo and Jim Mattis, with boosting cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region and finalizing a pact on encrypted defence technologies high on the agenda. All four of them also met PM Modi. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defence Secretary Jim Mattis arrived in Delhi yesterday for the talk. Sushma Swaraj received Mr Pompeo, while Ms Sitharaman welcomed Jim Mattis at the Palam airport, reflecting the importance of the talks, which are being held at the Jawaharlal Nehru Bhawan in the national capital.
Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff General Joseph Dunford is also part of the US delegation. The External Affairs Minister will have a separate bilateral meeting with Mr Pompeo while Ms Sitharaman will have a one-on-one meeting with Mr Mattis on Thursday morning before the delegation-level two-plus-two talks. In the afternoon, Sushma Swaraj, Nirmala Sitharaman, Mike Pompeo and James Mattis will call on Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
