New Delhi: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defence Secretary Lloyd J. Austin have their hands full as they arrive in India next week for the 2+2 Dialogue on 10 November.
Ahead of their visit, the US Department of State detailed the diverse agenda for the trip, which will encompass topics ranging from defence cooperation and the ongoing Israel-Hamas and Russia Ukraine wars to AI and semiconductors, among other things.
The US also reiterated its stand on the row between India and Canada over the killing of Sikh separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, saying that it has asked New Delhi to cooperate with Ottawa
Briefing the media in Washington, Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asian Affairs Donald Lu said, “This is a key part of the Secretary’s trip to Asia. One of the many discussion points will be our cooperation with India to keep the Indo-Pacific free, open, prosperous, and secure. The leaders will also discuss the conflict between Israel and Hamas and Russia’s war against Ukraine.”
He said that the Indian government was direct in its condemnation of the Hamas terrorist attack and has also joined a chorus of nations, including the US, that have called for sustained humanitarian access to Gaza.
“With India, we share the goals of preventing this conflict from spreading, preserving stability in the Middle East, and advancing a two-state solution,” he said.
Both Blinken and Austin will be joined by their Indian counterparts — External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh — at the dialogue on 10 November.
“Finally, the four cabinet officials, our two secretaries and their counterparts, will also discuss our efforts to advance democracy and human rights, as well as our expanded cooperation in clean energy, counterterrorism, artificial intelligence, space, and semiconductor manufacture,” said Lu.
Responding to a query on China, the US official said they would be interested to hear how India’s discussions with China were going on border issues. “And I’m sure our Indian counterparts will be very interested to hear about Wang Yi’s visit to the United States and the announced meeting between President Biden and President Xi at the APEC Summit,” he said.
Talking about defence cooperation between the two countries, Lu said a key part of the 2+2 Dialogue in recent years has been defence co-production with India. “Our intention is to encourage more collaboration to produce world-class defence equipment to meet Indian defence needs and contribute to greater global security,” he added.
Ongoing negotiations on the transfer of jet technology for the Tejas Mk 2 fighters, a deal on the MQ9B drones for the Indian military, the joint manufacture of M777 howitzers and armoured personnel carriers will also be in focus, as ThePrint reported earlier.
Deliberations on the India-Middle East-Europe-Economic Corridor and the continued belligerence of China are also expected.
New Delhi will be the last stop on Blinken’s five-nation Asia trip which began with Tel Aviv on 3 November.
US stands with Canada on Nijjar killing
The US continues to back Canada’s stance on the murder of Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, with Lu encouraging New Delhi to cooperate with Ottawa in the probe.
“So, we have publicly and privately urged the Indian Government to cooperate with Canada on the investigation into the allegations made by Prime Minister Trudeau. I know that we have been in constant contact with our Canadian partners, and we are hopeful that Canada’s investigation will proceed, and the perpetrators will be brought to justice,” Lu said.
Canadian PM Justin Trudeau on 18 September claimed that his government was investigating “credible allegations” of a “potential” link between agents of the Indian government and the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
Nijjar, a Canadian citizen, was killed outside a gurdwara in Surrey, British Columbia on 18 June.
The chief of the banned Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF), Nijjar was designated a terrorist by India in 2020.
New Delhi had rejected Trudeau’s allegations, calling them “absurd and motivated”.
Canada expelled the head of India’s security service in Canada, with India retaliating by throwing out a top Canadian diplomat. India also sought “parity” on the large Canadian diplomatic presence in India, which prompted its government to pull out 41 diplomats following the ultimatum.
However, amid the ongoing diplomatic row between Ottawa and New Delhi, India backed an amendment proposed by Canada in the UN General Assembly, condemning Hamas for the attacks on Israel on 7 October.
(Edited by Tikli Basu)
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