Joint Statement on the
Inaugural India-US 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue 6/09/18
Minister of External
Affairs Sushma Swaraj and Minister of Defence Nirmala
Sitharaman welcomed Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo and Secretary of
Defense James N. Mattis to India on September 6, 2018 for the inaugural
India-U.S. Ministerial 2+2 Dialogue. They welcomed the launch of the 2+2
Dialogue as a reflection of the shared commitment by Prime Minister Modi and
President Trump to provide a positive, forward-looking vision for
the India-U.S. strategic partnership and to promote synergy in their diplomatic
and security efforts. They resolved to continue meetings in this
format on an annual basis.
Celebrating over 70 years of diplomatic
cooperation, the Ministers reaffirmed their view that India and the United
States, as sovereign democracies founded on the values of freedom, justice, and
commitment to the rule of law, must continue to lead global efforts to promote
peace, prosperity, and security.
Recognizing their two countries are strategic
partners, major and independent stakeholders in world affairs, the Ministers
committed to work together on regional and global issues, including in
bilateral, trilateral, and quadrilateral formats. The two sides further decided
to establish secure communication between the Minister of External Affairs of
India and the U.S. Secretary of State, and between the Minister of Defence of
India and the U.S. Secretary of Defense, to help maintain regular high-level
communication on emerging developments.
Strengthening the Defense and Security Partnership
The Ministers reaffirmed
the strategic importance of India’s designation as a Major Defense Partner
(MDP) of the United States and committed to expand the scope of India’s MDP
status and take mutually agreed upon steps to strengthen defense ties further
and promote better defense and security coordination and cooperation. They
noted the rapid growth in bilateral defense trade and the qualitative
improvement in levels of technology and equipment offered by the United States
to India in recent years. They welcomed the inclusion of India by the United
States among the top tier of countries entitled to license-free exports,
re-exports, and transfers under License Exception Strategic Trade Authorization
(STA-1) and also committed to explore other means to support further expansion
in two-way trade in defense items and defense manufacturing supply chain
linkages. They welcomed the signing of a Communications
Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA) that
will facilitate access to advanced defense systems and enable India to
optimally utilize its existing U.S.-origin platforms. The Ministers also
announced their readiness to begin negotiations on an Industrial Security Annex
(ISA) that would support closer defense industry cooperation and
collaboration.
Recognizing their rapidly growing
military-to-military ties, the two sides committed to the creation of a new,
tri-services exercise and to further increase personnel exchanges between the
two militaries and defense organizations. The Ministers reviewed the recent
growth of bilateral engagements in support of maritime security and maritime
domain awareness, and committed to expand cooperation. Toward that end, the
Ministers committed to start exchanges between the U.S. Naval Forces Central
Command (NAVCENT) and the Indian Navy, underscoring the importance of deepening
their maritime cooperation in the western Indian Ocean.
Acknowledging the unique role of
technology in the India-U.S. defense partnership, the Ministers reaffirmed
their commitment to continue to encourage and prioritize co-production and
co-development projects through the Defense Technology and Trade Initiative
(DTTI), and to pursue other avenues of defense innovation cooperation. In this
regard, they welcomed the conclusion of a Memorandum of Intent between the U.S.
Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) and the Indian Defence Innovation Organization –
Innovation for Defence Excellence (DIO-iDEX).
Welcoming the expansion
of bilateral counter-terrorism cooperation, the Ministers announced their
intent to increase information-sharing efforts on known or suspected terrorists
and to implement UN Security Council Resolution 2396 on returning foreign
terrorist fighters. They committed to enhance their ongoing cooperation in
multilateral fora such as the UN and FATF. They reaffirmed their support for a
UN Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism that will advance and
strengthen the framework for global cooperation and reinforce the message that
no cause or grievance justifies terrorism.
The Ministers denounced any use of terrorist
proxies in the region, and in this context, they called on Pakistan to ensure
that the territory under its control is not used to launch terrorist attacks on
other countries. On the eve of the 10-year anniversary of the 26/11 Mumbai
attack, they called on Pakistan to bring to justice expeditiously the
perpetrators of the Mumbai, Pathankot, Uri, and other cross-border terrorist
attacks. The Ministers welcomed the launch of a bilateral dialogue on
designation of terrorists in 2017, which is strengthening cooperation and
action against terrorist groups, including Al-Qa’ida, ISIS, Lashkar-e-Tayyiba,
Jaish-e-Mohammad, Hizb-ul Mujahideen, the Haqqani Network, Tehrik-i-Taliban
Pakistan, D-Company, and their affiliates. The two sides further reaffirmed
their commitment to ongoing and future cooperation to ensure a stable
cyberspace environment and to prevent cyber-attacks.
Partners in the Indo-Pacific and Beyond
The Ministers reviewed cooperation in the
Indo-Pacific region, noting that the common principles for the region
articulated in the India-U.S. Joint Statement of June 2017 have been further
amplified by President Donald Trump at Danang, Vietnam on November 10, 2017,
and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Singapore at the Shangri-La Dialogue on
June 1, 2018.
Both sides committed to work together and in
concert with other partners toward advancing a free, open, and inclusive
Indo-Pacific region, based on recognition of ASEAN centrality and on respect
for sovereignty, territorial integrity, rule of law, good governance, free and
fair trade, and freedom of navigation and overflight. Noting the importance of
infrastructure and connectivity for the Indo-Pacific region, both sides
emphasized the need to work collectively with other partner countries to
support transparent, responsible, and sustainable debt financing practices in
infrastructure development.
The Ministers reaffirmed their shared
commitment to a united, sovereign, democratic, inclusive, stable, prosperous,
and peaceful Afghanistan. The two sides expressed support
for an Afghan-led, Afghan-owned peace and reconciliation process. The United
States acknowledged India’s longstanding and ongoing contributions of economic
assistance to Afghanistan and also welcomed India’s enhanced role in
Afghanistan’s development and stabilization.
India welcomed the recent U.S.-North
Korea summit. The two sides pledged to work together to counter North Korea’s
weapons of mass destruction programs and to hold accountable those countries
that have supported them. The United States welcomed India’s accession to
the Australia Group, the Wassenaar Arrangement, and the Missile Technology
Control Regime and reiterated its full support for India’s immediate accession
to the Nuclear Suppliers Group.
Promoting Prosperity and People-to-People Ties
The Ministers recognized the importance and
the potential for increasing bilateral trade, investment, innovation, and job
creation in both countries. Both sides committed to further expanding and
balancing the trade and economic partnership consistent with their leaders’
2017 joint statement, including by facilitating trade, improving market access,
and addressing issues of interest to both sides. In this regard, both
sides welcomed the ongoing exchanges between the Ministry of Commerce of India
and the Office of the United States Trade Representative and hoped for mutually
acceptable outcomes.
Both sides looked forward to full
implementation of the civil nuclear energy partnership and collaboration
between Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) and Westinghouse
Electric Company for the establishment of six nuclear power plants in
India.
Observing the strong ties of family,
education, and business, and the spirit of entrepreneurship and innovation that
unite their people, the Ministers highlighted the unmatched people-to-people
ties between their countries and recognized the benefits to both nations and
the world from these ties, including the free flow of ideas and collaboration
in health, space, oceans, and other areas of science and technology.
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