India and US have reaffirmed their commitment to a free, open, inclusive, peaceful, and prosperous Indo-Pacific. The Ministry of External Affairs said this after Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla and US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland co-chaired India-US Foreign Office Consultations, FOC in New Delhi yesterday.
Following up on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s discussions with President Joe Biden in Washington D.C in September last year, the two sides reviewed progress in various domains under the India-US Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership.
According to the statement, both sides welcomed regular high-level dialogue and engagement, including productive meetings of bilateral mechanisms which led to intensifying of cooperation across all pillars of the bilateral agenda.
The FOC provided a valuable opportunity to discuss contemporary regional issues pertaining to South Asia, the Indo-Pacific region, West Asia, and the situation in Ukraine, among others.
The statement added, following up on the Quad Leaders’ Meetings, they expressed a keen desire to implement quickly the Quad’s positive and constructive agenda to deliver for countries in the Indo-Pacific region. They agreed to work together to strengthen the India-US global partnership regarding supply chains, critical technologies, health security, climate actions, and clean energy and terrorism.
Both sides looked forward to the India-US 22 Ministerial Meeting in Washington DC. The 22 dialogue is held between the foreign and defence ministers of two countries.
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