After the India-US 2+2 ministerial dialogue, External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar addressed a press briefing in Washington on Wednesday sharing that the two sides had discussed the humanitarian situation in Ukraine and the supply of medicines to the war-torn nation. EAM Jaishankar added that a fair time had been spent by the two delegations on the situation in the Indo-pacific region, against the backdrop of the upcoming QUAD Summit reported ANI.
“Humanitarian situation (in Ukraine) – what are different countries doing, we spoke about that. We gave 90 tons of relief material in the month of March. But right now the focus is more on supply of medicines to Ukraine,” said EAM Dr S Jaishankar.
“Other than the Ukraine QUAD, we spent a fair of time on the Indo-Pacific, reviewing what has been the progress. We are preparing for the next Quad Summit. There was a very detailed discussion – where are we and what more do we have to do between now and next time we (QUAD) meet. Discussions about more economic activities in Indo-Pacific. What is it that different countries, especially Quad, can do to promote greater economic cooperation,” he added.
Further, talks were held on the geopolitical developments in the Indian subcontinent, including the difficulties in Sri Lanka, and big changes in Pakistan, he said. “There was interest, completely understandably, on some developments in the Indian subcontinent. The main difficulties in Sri Lanka, the big changes in Pakistan, there was a little bit of discussion on what all has recently happened in Nepal, Myanmar,” Jaishankar shared, adding that India’s perspective, clearly seems to be of value to the Americans.
India-US 2+2 Dialogue
India and the US held the 2+2 ministerial dialogue in Washington DC on Monday, April 11. The two countries reviewed mutual efforts to respond to the worsening humanitarian crisis in Kyiv amid the ongoing Russian military operation in Ukraine. In a joint statement, the ministers from the two sides said that they assessed broader implications of the ongoing war and condemn civilian deaths in Ukraine. Ministers from both sides underscored that the ‘contemporary global order has been built on the UN Charter’.
Alongside, PM Narendra Modi and President Joe Biden also held a virtual meeting where the two leaders discussed the “destabilising impacts” of Russia’s war against Ukraine, with a particular focus on global food supply, the White House said. PM Modi and President Biden also expressed their interest for their in-person meeting, later this spring in Tokyo, for the QUAD summit.
