What is the ‘2+2’ format of dialogue?

• IAS NEXT, Lucknow
• 14, Apr 2022

Reference News:-

The fourth ‘2+2’ dialogue between India and the United States is underway in Washington DC.

• India’s External Affairs and Defence Ministers, S Jaishankar and Rajnath Singh, are meeting with their American counterparts, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and Secretary of  Defense Lloyd Austin. 

What are 2+2 talks?

The 2+2 dialogue is a format of meeting of the foreign and defence ministers of India and its allies on strategic and security issues. 

Significance:

A 2+2 ministerial dialogue enables the partners to better understand and appreciate each other’s strategic concerns and sensitivities taking into account political factors on both sides, in order to build a stronger, more integrated strategic relationship in a rapidly changing global environment.

India’s strategic 2+2 partners:

India has 2+2 dialogues with four key strategic partners: the US, Australia, Japan, and Russia. Besides Russia, the other three countries are also India’s partners in the Quad.

• The US is India’s oldest and most important 2+2 talks partner. 

Outcomes of the ‘2+2’ dialogues:

Over the years, the strategic bilateral relationship with its partners, including the dialogues held in the 2+2 format, have produced tangible and far-reaching results for India.

• India and the US have signed a troika of “foundational pacts” for deep military cooperation, beginning with the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA) in 2016, followed by the Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA) after the first 2+2 dialogue in 2018, and then the Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement (BECA) in 2020.