US Secretary of Defence Mark Esper meets Defence Minister Rajnath Singh

NEW DELHI: US Secretary of Defence Mark Esper, who arrived in India along with Secretary of State Michael Pompeo to participate in the third India-US 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue, was accorded the Guard of Honour at the South Block on Monday.

Ahead of Tuesday's 2+ 2 ministerial dialogue Defence Minister of India Rajnath Singh held talks with Mark Esper. Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat, Army Chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane, IAF Chief Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria and Navy Chief Admiral Karambir Singh were also present at the meeting.

India is delighted to host the US Secretary of Defence, Dr. Mark Esper. Our talks today were fruitful, aimed at further deepening defence cooperation in a wide range of areas.

Today’s discussions will add new vigour to India-US defence relations & mutual cooperation. @EsperDoD pic.twitter.com/MMk11GkSZ1

— Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) October 26, 2020

Prior to the start of the meeting, keeping coronavirus spread in mind, US Ambassador to India Kenneth Juster greeted General Bipin Rawat and Admiral Karambir Singh with elbow bumps.

The third US-India 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue demonstrates the high-level commitment the two countries provide to shared diplomatic and security objectives, US State Department said on Sunday.

The India-US 2+2 talks will focus on four themes -- regional security cooperation, defense information sharing, military-to-military interactions, and defense trade, the US State Department said.

The first two 2+2 Ministerial dialogues had been held in New Delhi in September 2018 and Washington DC in 2019.