Fifth India-U.S. 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue-Focus on defence cooperation

The Fifth India-U.S. 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue, set for Friday, November 10, has been formally announced by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). Mr. Lloyd Austin, the US Secretary of Defence, will be in India on November 9 and 10, 2023. He will hold a bilateral discussion with Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh in addition to co-chairing the India-US 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue. At the Palam Technical Area, Secretary Austin would be greeted with a Tri-service Guard of Honour. New Delhi will host the sixth India-US 2 plus 2 Ministerial Dialogue. 

What is  2+2 Ministerial Dialogue?

• The 2+2 Ministerial is the two nations' highest-level institutional framework.
• It's a discussion style in which secretaries or the defence department meet foreign colleagues.
• India holds 2+2 talks with four important strategic allies: the United States, Australia, Japan, and Russia. 
• India's Quad partners include the other three nations in addition to Russia.

Status of India’s 2+2 Dialogue with the US 

• India’s most significant and established 2+2 discussion partner is the United States.
• In 2018, the Trump Administration hosted the first two-way conversation between the two nations.
• The US and India have signed three "foundational pacts" for extensive military cooperation:
  • 2016 - The Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA) 
  • 2018- The Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA)
  • 2020-The Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement (BECA) 

Significance of  2+2 Ministerial Dialogue

• India and the United States may undertake a thorough evaluation of their collaborative efforts on a crucial platform—the 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue. 
• The bilateral meeting and the 2+2 conversation are anticipated to cover a range of defence, technological, and strategic concerns. 
• When Secretary Austin last travelled to India in June 2023, he held a meeting with Shri Rajnath Singh, Raksha Mantri.
• Apart from its bilateral features, the Fifth India-U.S. 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue would give both countries a forum to evaluate current regional challenges. 
• The conversation offers a chance to further the ambitious plan for the India-US cooperation, which is in line with the goals articulated by US President Joe Biden and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. 

COMCASA Pact

• A variant of the Communication and Information on Security Memorandum of Agreement (CISMOA) designed specifically for India is called COMCASA.
• The historic COMCASA (Communications, Compatibility, and Security Agreement) was signed between India and the United States.
• With the help of the COMCASA, communication security equipment from the US will be sent to India.
• This will enable "interoperability" between the two militaries and maybe with other armed forces that utilise systems with U.S. origin for secure data communications.