India and United States will start a new two-by-two ministerial dialogue to enhance “peace and stability across the Indo-Pacific region”, the White House said in an official release on Tuesday. This was decided after US President Donald Trump spoke with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday, and congratulated him on India’s 71st Independence Day.
“The leaders resolved to enhance peace and stability across the Indo-Pacific region by establishing a new 2-by-2 ministerial dialogue that will elevate their strategic consultations,” the White House said in the statement.
The two ministers in the new two-by-two dialogue will be External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Defence Minister Arun Jaitley from India’s end, and their US counterparts Rex Tillerson and James Mattis, according to the Hindustan Times. However, no dates or the venue were announced for their first meeting.
Trump also welcomed the first-ever shipment of American crude oil to India, which will be sent from Texas later this month. He also pledged “that the United States would continue to be a reliable, long-term supplier of energy”.
Modi thanked Trump for his “strong leadership” and for “uniting the world against the North Korean menace”.
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