Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs Dr. Ely Ratner co-chaired the seventh U.S.-India 2+2 Intersessional Dialogue today in Washington, D.C., alongside Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Donald Lu, Additional Secretary Vani Rao of the Indian Ministry of External Affairs, and Joint Secretary Vishwesh Negi of the Indian Ministry of Defense.
The 2+2 Intersessional Dialogue advanced a wide range of ambitious initiatives across the breadth of the U.S.-India partnership, including defense and security, emerging technologies, people-to-people ties, clean energy, and supply chain resilience. On the defense side, Assistant Secretary Ratner and his counterparts reviewed the progress the two countries have made on implementing the Roadmap for U.S.-India Defense Industrial Cooperation; they welcomed progress on new co-production initiatives and committed to expeditiously conclude negotiations on Security of Supply Arrangement and Reciprocal Defense Procurement agreements. They also discussed opportunities to further strengthen interoperability and logistics cooperation, including through combined maritime engagements in the Indian Ocean region, as well as expanded cooperation in the space and cyber domains. The officials also discussed regional security developments and strategic priorities across the Indo-Pacific region.
The officials underscored the transformative momentum in U.S.-India relations and reaffirmed that a strong U.S.-India partnership is essential to upholding security and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region. Assistant Secretary Ratner reaffirmed the Department's commitment to working with India to advance our shared vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific.
