New Delhi: U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday during his visit to India. In this meeting, External Affairs Minister Pompeo and PM Modi discussed a number of issues related to regional and global concerns on which India and the United States cooperate with each other. The two leaders shared interests in the Covid-19 Response, security and defense cooperation, and an independent and open Indo-Pacific. Kyle Brown, Deputy Spokesman for the U.S. Department of State, said that the U.S. Secretary of State and Prime Minister resolved to further strengthen the U.S.-India Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership to better ensure the security and prosperity of the Indo-Pacific region and the world.
After the meeting, Prime Minister Modi said that the meeting with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Secretary of Defense Mark Asper was good. Glad to see tremendous progress in Indo-US relations and the outcome of the 2 + 2 talks. Our broad global strategic partnership is based on shared principles, common strategic interests. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Defense Minister Rajnath Singh, National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and US Ambassador to India Ken Juster were also present during the meeting between the two leaders.
Earlier, Jaishankar and Rajnath Singh held the third round of ‘Two Plus Two’ talks with Pompeo and Asper.
Significant agreements reached between India and the United States
India and the United States signed a landmark defense agreement that would allow the sharing of state-of-the-art military technology, confidential satellite data and critical information between the two countries. During the ‘Two Plus Two’ talks, the treaty between the two strategic partners on the ‘Basic Exchange and Co-operation Agreement’ (BECA) signaled the further deepening of bilateral defense and military ties. This agreement has come at a time when India is at a standstill with China in eastern Ladakh.
In the ‘Two Plus Two’ talks, the two sides discussed issues of mutual interest in the Indo-Pacific region and further deepening the already close ties between the two countries.
Pompeo said this
In a statement issued after the meeting, Pompeo said that during the visit, he would pay tribute to the martyrs who sacrificed their lives in honor of the world’s largest democracy, including 20 Indian soldiers killed by the Chinese PLA in the Galvan Valley in June. Monuments also went.
Pompeo said, “America will stand with the people of India when they face a threat to their sovereignty and independence.”
Criticizing the Communist Party of China (CCP), Pompeo said that American leaders and citizens are increasingly seeing that “the CCP is not a friend of democracy, the rule of law and transparency.”
