A robust framework

In the past four years, India has participated in four 2+2 ministerial meetings with the United States. Apart from that, the country has also engaged in the same format with two other Quad countries — Japan and Australia — and its old and reliable friend Russia. The 2+2 ministerial format has emerged as an extensive tool for robust bilateral relations and countries are waking up to it. The speciality of the format emerges from the fact that it allows engagement of the two most strategic wings of the government of both countries, which can facilitate the operationalisation of the commitments on the ground. While summit meetings carry the weight of their own and symbolise priorities, 2+2 ministerial meetings usher in a characteristic functional attribute. The fourth India-US 2+2 meeting witnessed discussions on a vast multitude of subjects — including global partnership and Indo-Pacific cooperation; mutual prosperity, innovation, and resilient supply chains; climate, environment, and clean energy; science, technology, cybersecurity, and space; global health; defence and security; counterterrorism and counter-narcotics; and education and people-to-people ties. It may be true that the motives and objectives behind the meeting would be defined by the larger geopolitical context but the weight and expanse of commitments is profound enough to shape a trajectory of its own. While Ukraine found a mention in the joint statement — with ministers reviewing "mutual efforts to respond to the worsening humanitarian crisis", calling "immediate cessation of hostilities" and condemning civilian deaths — the humanitarian crisis in Sri Lanka and Myanmar and politico-economic turmoil in Pakistan was largely skipped. The bilateral relations between India and the US cannot be seen in absolute isolation. Balance and stability in South Asia are almost intrinsic to the relations between the two countries, particularly as China has been playing out its own geopolitics in Sri Lanka and Pakistan. Interestingly, the joint statement also skipped the mention of Russia. As is known, Indo-Pacific stability has been a recurring theme in Indo-US bilateral and multilateral relations. In continuance with the past high-profile Quad engagements, the joint statement emphasised on "free and open Indo-Pacific in which the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all states are respected, and countries are free from military, economic, and political coercion". In the present times, when South Asia is undergoing political-economic turbulence, greater focus was required to maintain the hold on the Indo-Pacific region through Indo-US bilateral engagement. However, staying away from short-term objectives, and rather focusing on the long-term vision could also be taken as a positive attribute. Both the countries have come to realise that their bilateral relations have a value in future and contradictions on specific short-term issues cannot be allowed to affect the overall relations. A parallel virtual meeting between US President Joe Biden and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is noteworthy in this regard, reflecting the primacy of mutual cooperation. Among the broad range of shared commitments highlighted during the meeting, a prominent one is the steadily growing Indo-US military ties. The 2+2 ministerial meeting has further built upon the India-US Defense Policy Group meeting held in October 2021 — paving the way for wider military cooperation. In addition to defence, promising collaboration is being forged in the direction of the cyber domain, AI technology and space. Climate is another emerging area of mutual concern. India and the US, among other things, are already engaged in Climate and Clean Energy Agenda 2030 Partnership which aims at exploring and identifying low carbon pathways "to develop and undertake joint research and development projects, mobilize finance, and promote green technologies, and enhance technical collaboration aimed at building on complementarities for facilitating energy transition". Another area that cannot be ignored, and forms the mainstay of Indo-US relations, is people-to-people ties. The joint statement touched upon this aspect as well. Based on their national interests, India and the United States have come a long way since they first held a 2+2 ministerial meeting in 2018 in New Delhi. The meeting also saw the signing of the historic Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA). In the meeting preceding the recent — third 2+2 ministerial meeting in 2020 — the countries signed the critical Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement (BECA) for geospatial coordination. The fourth meeting in the 2+2 format has made the cooperation between the two countries more robust.