In Pics: Rajnath Singh holds delegation-level talks with US counterpart at Pentagon, meets Joe Biden at White House

Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and US Secretary of Defence Lloyd J Austin III on Monday held delegation-level talks at the Pentagon ahead of India-US 2+2 ministerial dialogue.

Rajnath Singh, who is on a five-day US visit, arrived at the Pentagon for a bilateral meeting with Austin.

Austin welcomed Rajnath Singh in an enhanced honour cordon ceremony at the Pentagon.

Taking to Twitter, Singh wrote, "Had a wonderful meeting with the US @SecDef, Mr Lloyd Austin at the Pentagon today. We reviewed the entire gamut of bilateral defence cooperation and the regional security situation."

Later, Singh also met US President Joe Biden at the White House.

"Met with the @POTUS Mr @JoeBiden at the White House in Washington today. Attended the India-US virtual summit which was addressed by the India’s Prime Minister, Shri @narendramodi and the US President," he tweeted.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar arrived in Washington on Sunday for the fourth 2+2 dialogue with their US counterparts.

The 2+2 dialogue comes amidst the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. The United Nations Security Council is scheduled to hold a meeting on Ukraine today.

US State Department Blinken will also hold a meeting with Jaishankar before the 2+2 dialogue. The last 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue between the two countries was held in October 2020 in New Delhi.

India and the United States held a bilateral 2+2 inter-sessional meeting in September last year in Washington and exchanged assessments on developments in South Asia, the Indo-Pacific region and the Western Indian Ocean.

(With ANI inputs)

Published on: Monday, April 11, 2022, 11:13 PM IST