Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Secretary of Defence James Mattis, and NSA John Bolton

Talks postponed as Pompeo travelled to North Korea

The first 2+2 dialogue between Defence and Foreign Ministers of India and the U.S. will take place in September first week in New Delhi. An official announcement on this will be likely in the next few days, The Hindu has learnt.

The dialogue was scheduled for July 6 in Washington, but was postponed due to changes in Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s schedule. Mr. Pompeo was in Pyongyang for denuclearisation talks with the North Korean regime on July 6. Defence Secretary James Mattis had offered to host Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on the same day, but India did not warm up to the idea of a truncated meeting.

Unexpected Delay

Mr. Pompeo and Mr. Mattis will now travel to New Delhi in the first week of September. Meanwhile, both countries are trying to turn the extra time provided by the unexpected postponement of the dialogue into advantage. Negotiations are under way on the Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA). Two U.S delegations are in India this week — one on Iran sanctions and the other on U.S.-India Defence Technology and Trade Initiative (DTTI).

A communications agreement is key to the forward movement of the pending proposal for India to buy armed drones from American company General Atomics. India has reservations about the standard text of the COMCASA agreement that the U.S enter into with allies. While the U.S. would prefer the standard agreement, it is open to an India-specific agreement as well. Both sides have exchanged drafts of the agreement, and negotiators are hopeful of its conclusion in time for the dialogue.

Private Sector Concerns

Meanwhile, private sector defence companies are concerned that they might not be getting an opportunity to meet Ellen Lord, Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment who arrived in India on Wednesday.

Ms. Lord’s visit is to boost DTTI and similar visits in the past usually included a round table with private defence companies. “The private sector is expected to a play a key role in DTTI and their participation in the dialogue would be helpful,” said Benjamin Schwartz, Head of the U.S.-India Business Council’s Defence and Aerospace program.