Ahead of 2+2 ministerial dialogue with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday held a meeting with US Secretary of Defence Mark Esper in Delhi. Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat, Army Chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane, IAF Chief Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria and Navy Chief Admiral Karambir Singh were also present at the meeting.
US Ambassador to India, Kenneth Juster, greeted Bipin Rawat and Karambir Singh with elbow bumps considering the pandemic protocol.
The defence minister will host a dinner for Mike Pompeo and Mark Esper later in the day. They will also meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and National Security Adviser Ajit Doval. The third edition of the high-level talks comes amid the five month long India-China standoff in eastern Ladakh as well as the renewed global focus on the Indo-Pacific region.