First India-US two-plus-two meeting postponed
The first India-US two-plus-two meeting that was tentatively scheduled for April 18-19 has been postponed as of now. The meeting was postponed due to uncertainty over the confirmation of the nomination of Mike Pompeo as the new Secretary of State, according to officials. The launch of the two-plus-two dialogue was announced when PM Narendra Modi had a successful meeting with Donald Trump last summer.
No official announcement of the high-level dialogue
There was no official announcement of the high-level dialogue involving the foreign and defense ministers from the two countries. India's foreign and defense secretaries were in Washington early this week for preparatory talks with their American counterparts. The delegation met both at the State Department and the Pentagon as scheduled, during which it was decided to hold the two-plus-two dialogue at a later date.
Two-plus-two dialogue to elevate the strategic relationship between India-US
The Indian delegation landed in Washington DC amidst the firing of Rex Tillerson as the Secretary of State by Trump. The two-plus-two dialogue was seen as a vehicle to elevate the strategic relationship between the two countries. After June last year, the two countries have tried several other dates for this dialogue including sometime in November and December.
In February, the two-days in mid-April was decided
Officials also checked for a time in January 2018, but both sides were having a tough time in finding a day when all the four leaders- Sushma Swaraj, Nirmala Sitharaman, Jim Mattis and Rex Tillerson- were available. In February, two-days in mid-April were zeroed in for the talks. However, the plans had to be scuttled as Trump announced that Tillerson has been fired.
Trump nominated Pompeo to replace Tillerson
Trump nominated Pompeo to replace Tillerson as the Secretary of State. Once Pompeo's nomination process breezes through the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, it would go to the Senate floor for a vote. But given the sharp differences between the Republicans and the Democrats in the Senate, officials decided not to take any chance by going ahead with the mid-April date for the two-plus-two talks.
New dates will now be determined after Pompeo occupies office
"It has been postponed for now," a US official said, pointing out that this would have no impact on the bilateral relationship as the meetings this week by foreign and defense secretaries decided to continue with their agenda. The new dates will now be determined after Pompeo occupies the Foggy Bottom headquarters of the State Department and settles down as the top American diplomat.
