International Relations
Indo – US 2+2 Dialogue
- 21 Dec 2019
- 4 min read
Why in News
India and the US have recently concluded second 2+2 ministerial dialogue in Washington. Several landmark agreements in both defence and Civilian sectors were signed.
Key Points
- Industrial Security Annex (ISA)
- ISA to the General Security Of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA) will provide a framework for exchange and protection of classified military information between the U.S. and Indian defence industries.
- Currently, under GSOMIA, such information is exchanged between the Government authorities of the two countries but not between private parties.
- This will further promote “Make in India” in the defence sector.
- In accordance with the budget announcement (2018-19), the government has already decided to set up two Defence Industrial Corridors in the country, one in Uttar Pradesh and another in Tamil Nadu.
- Peacekeeping for Indo-Pacific
- Cooperation in capacity-building of UN peacekeepers from Indo-Pacific countries, based on demands from the countries concerned.
- Counter-terrorism efforts were also discussed including dangers of of cross border terrorism.
- Tiger Triumph Exercise
- To hold the India-U.S. joint tri-services ‘Tiger Triumph’ on an annual basis.
- The first edition was held in November 2019 as a Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) exercise.
- Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI)
- The CDRI was launched at the UN Climate Action Summit in New York, USA in September 2019. It is headquartered in New Delhi, India.
- The US is now part of it.
- Water Resource Management
- Memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed between Ministry of Jal Shakti and the U.S. Geological Survey to promote technical cooperation in water resources management and water technology.
- Space Situational Awareness (SSA)
- Cooperation for exchange of information including space debris and space traffic management.
- It ensures navigational safety of our space assets.
- Young Innovators Internship Programme (YIIP)
- Create internship opportunities in key areas of science and economy.
- New opportunities for young entrepreneurs.
- Parliamentary Exchange and Judicial cooperation
- Reciprocal visits by Parliamentarians from both countries.
- The U.S. Federal Judicial Center and India’s National Judicial Academy in Bhopal to cooperate in the area of counter-terrorism jurisprudence to new areas of criminal jurisprudence including money laundering, drug trafficking etc.
‘2+2’ Dialogue
- It is a format of dialogue where the defense and foreign ministers or secretaries meet with their counterparts from another country. 2+2 Ministerial is the highest-level institutional mechanism between the two countries.
- India holds such talks with Australia, at the foreign secretary and defense secretary level but with Japan and the US at the ministerial level.
- With the US this was the second 2+2 meeting (Washington), first was held in New Delhi in September 2018.
- US holds such ministerial dialogues with Australia and Japan also.
