US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Defence Secretary Mark Esper meet NSA Doval

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defence Secretary Mark T Esper on Tuesday held talks with National Security Advisor Ajit Doval. They covered key aspects of growing strategic ties between the two countries.

Issues of strategic importance were discussed at the meeting, sources said.

The meeting took place ahead of the third edition of the 2+2 ministerial dialogue. Esper and Pompeo arrived here on Monday for the crucial talks to further boost defence and strategic ties.

On the same day, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar held separate talks with their US counterparts. On Tuesday morning, both the US administration officials visited the National War Memorial and paid tributes to India’s fallen heroes.

Ahead of the talks, the US State Department said: “As outlined in our National Security Strategy, the United States welcomes India’s emergence as a leading regional and global power. The United States looks forward to collaborating closely with India during its upcoming term on the UN Security Council.”

The US said the agenda for the 2+2 minister-level talks are regional security cooperation, defence information sharing, military-to-military interactions, and defence trade.

According to the State Department, The US leaders will also meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and hold discussions with other government and business leaders on ways to advance the US-India Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership.