The sides are expected to discuss China’s increasing hostility in the Indo-Pacific and Asian regions

United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defence Secretary Mark Esper will be visiting India to attend the 2+2 dialogue between the two nations in New Delhi in the last week of October to discuss further strengthening bilateral ties.

According to a report published in Hindustan Times, both nations will be holding the bilateral meeting in New Delhi between October 26 and October 27. Pompeo and Esper will be meeting their counterparts, External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh respectively.

The sides are expected to discuss issues ranging from security ties to trade investment. As per the HT report, the sides are expected to discuss trade and investment during the meeting which remains to be one of the main issues between the two nations. The issues include market access and data laws.

The sides are also expected to discuss China’s increasing hostility in the Indo-Pacific and Asian region.

The report said that the sides were unable to reach a trade deal during US President Donald Trump’s first official visit to India in February.

The previous 2+2 dialogue between India and the US was held in December last year in Washington. The two sides discussed ways to strengthen their commitment towards the Indi-Pacific region. The nations discussed issues ranging from combating terrorism to promoting transparent and sustainable infrastructure.

This will be the second meeting between Pompeo and Jaishankar in a month. They met in Tokyo on October 6 to attend the Quad Initiative Meet between India, the US, Australia and Japan.