Foreign Minister, Mike Pompeo Meet Ahead Of Signing Key Defence Deal

Bilateral ties between India and the US in the last four years have grown in every domain including trade, energy, defence and education, sources said after a meeting between Foreign Minister S Jaishankar and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo today.

The two nations will sign a landmark defence deal on Tuesday for sharing high-end military technology, logistics and geospatial maps on the third edition of the "2+2" ministerial dialogue.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh also held wide-ranging talks with his US counterpart Mark T Esper today.

"The Foreign Minister and Mike Pompeo reviewed progress in bilateral ties over the last four years and they are satisfied that they have grown in virtually every domain including trade, energy, defence and education. The practice of consultations on foreign policy issues has also expanded, including regional and multilateral," a person with direct knowledge of the talks said.

Mr Jaishankar stressed on the uniqueness of India's technology and talent flow and underlined that a knowledge economy with greater data sensitivity makes an even stronger case for collaboration with the US, sources said.

"An innovation partnership is central to our future and our policies must be accordingly supportive. Education is a special bond between us and both sides should work to expand it further," a source said about what the Foreign Minister discussed with Mike Pompeo.

The two leaders exchanged views on the current global situation and its contemporary challenges and discussed shared concerns and interests, including stability and security in Asia, and how best that can be ensured. "Specific issues will be taken up in the 2+2 tomorrow," the source said.

Mr Jaishankar and Mr Pompeo also followed up on Indo-Pacific engagements and the Quad, including maritime security, counter-terrorism, open connectivity and resilient supply chains.

Mr Pompeo shared with Mr Jaishankar the US administration's thinking on Afghanistan, while the Foreign Minister highlighted India's stakes and its continuing concern that decisions should be made by Afghans themselves without use of force.

"India also made clear that cross-border terrorism was completely unacceptable," the source said.