India-US Strategic Security Dialogue reaffirms commitment to global security

Washington. 14 March 2019. The 9th round of the India-US Strategic Security Dialogue was held in Washington DC on March 13, 2019. The Indian delegation was led by Vijay Gokhale, Foreign Secretary, while the U.S. delegation was led by Andrea Thompson, Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security. The two sides exchanged views on a wide range of global security and non proliferation challenges and reaffirmed their commitment to work together to prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their delivery systems and to deny access to such weapons by terrorists and non-state actors. They committed to strengthen bilateral security and civil nuclear cooperation, including the establishment of six U.S. nuclear power plants in India. The United States reaffirmed its strong support of India’s early membership in the Nuclear Suppliers Group.

Earlier, on March 12, 2019, Indra Mani Pandey, Additional Secretary for Disarmament and International Security Affairs, Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India, and Dr. Yleem D. S. Poblete, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Arms Control, Verification and Compliance, co-chaired the third round of the India-U.S. Space Dialogue, where they discussed trends in space threats; respective national space priorities; and opportunities for cooperation bilaterally and in multilateral fora.

Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale and the U.S. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs David Hale held Foreign Office Consultations and reaffirmed their commitment to the Indo- U.S. Strategic Partnership. In this context, they reviewed progress made since the Ministerial 2+2 meeting and discussed ways to further expand cooperation.They exchanged views on building convergences in the Indo-Pacific and agreed to work with each other and regional partners to promote inclusivity, stability, peace and prosperity in the region.

Both sides called on Pakistan to meaningfully address the concerns of the international community on terrorism, including cross-border terrorism.