Washington: Foreign Minister S Jaishankar and his US counterpart Mike Pompeo spoke on the phone, in which they discussed bilateral and multilateral cooperation in dealing with the Coronavirus global epidemic and matters of international concern including the Indo-Pacific region. Foreign Ministry Principal Deputy Spokesman Calle Brown said the two leaders reiterated the importance of India-US relations in maintaining prosperity and peace and strengthening security in the Indo-Pacific and worldwide. India and the United States discussed ways to increase cooperation in the resource-rich Indo-Pacific region. China is trying to increase its influence in the region. The matter was also discussed in detail in the third round of the Indo-US maritime security talks held in Goa in 2018.
The US has been encouraging India to play a larger role in the strategically important Indo-Pacific region. Brown said, “The two leaders agreed to continue close cooperation in regional and international affairs, and to pursue the US-India” Two Plus Two “Ministerial Dialogue and Quarterly Dialogue later this year. India, the United States, Australia, and Japan shaped the quadrilateral alliance in November 2017 with the aim of developing a new strategy to free China’s major sea lanes in the Indo-Pacific. The first ‘two plus two’ talks took place in New Delhi in September 2018.
During the phone conversation, Jaishankar and Pompeo discussed ongoing bilateral and multilateral cooperation on matters of international concern, including the Covid-19 global pandemic, supporting the peace process in Afghanistan and recent steps destabilizing the region, Brown said. The two leaders are in constant contact during the coronavirus global epidemic. More than seven lakh people have died due to this pandemic and about one crore 90 lakh people are infected.
