The Fifth India-U.S. 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue, set for Friday, November 10, has been formally announced by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). Mr. Lloyd Austin, the US Secretary of Defence, will be in India on November 9 and 10, 2023. He will hold a bilateral discussion with Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh in addition to co-chairing the India-US 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue. At the Palam Technical Area, Secretary Austin would be greeted with a Tri-service Guard of Honour. New Delhi will host the sixth India-US 2 plus 2 Ministerial Dialogue.

What is 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue?

The 2+2 Ministerial is the two nations' highest-level institutional framework.
It's a discussion style in which secretaries or the defence department meet foreign colleagues.
India holds 2+2 talks with four important strategic allies: the United States, Australia, Japan, and Russia.
India's Quad partners include the other three nations in addition to Russia.

Status of India’s 2+2 Dialogue with the US

India’s most significant and established 2+2 discussion partner is the United States.
In 2018, the Trump Administration hosted the first two-way conversation between the two nations.
The US and India have signed three "foundational pacts" for extensive military cooperation:
- 2016 - The Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA)
- 2018- The Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA)
- 2020-The Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement (BECA)

Year	Edition	Description
2018	First 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue	The first meeting with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Secretary of Defence Jim Mattis, Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj, and Minister of Defence Nirmala Sitharaman took place in New Delhi on September 6.
2019	Second 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue	The second meeting with Mike Pompeo, Secretary of Defence Mark Esper, Minister of External Affairs S. Jaishankar, and Minister of Defence Rajnath Singh took place in Washington, D.C. on December 18. The September Quadrilateral Security Dialogue involving Japan, Australia, the United States, and India was welcomed by the ministers and secretaries.
2020	Third 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue	The third summit was held on October 27 in New Delhi, where both sides announced the signing of the Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement for Geo-spatial Cooperation, with the US vowing to support India's "territorial sovereignty and liberty" in response to the May skirmishes between India and China's armed forces along the disputed Line of Actual Control.
2022	Fourth 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue	For the fourth India-U.S. 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue, Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken, Secretary of Defence Lloyd J. Austin III, and Minister of Defence Rajnath Singh and Minister of External Affairs Dr. S. Jaishankar were received in Washington, D.C. on April 11, 2022. President Joseph Biden and Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a virtual meeting prior to the Dialogue.
2023	Fifth 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue	Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Joe Biden have envisioned a futuristic roadmap for the India-US partnership, which will be advanced by the defence and foreign ministers of both nations during the fifth India-US 2+2 Ministerial dialogue, which is scheduled to take place in New Delhi on November 10.

Significance of 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue

India and the United States may undertake a thorough evaluation of their collaborative efforts on a crucial platform—the 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue.
The bilateral meeting and the 2+2 conversation are anticipated to cover a range of defence, technological, and strategic concerns.
When Secretary Austin last travelled to India in June 2023, he held a meeting with Shri Rajnath Singh, Raksha Mantri.
Apart from its bilateral features, the Fifth India-U.S. 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue would give both countries a forum to evaluate current regional challenges.
The conversation offers a chance to further the ambitious plan for the India-US cooperation, which is in line with the goals articulated by US President Joe Biden and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

COMCASA Pact

A variant of the Communication and Information on Security Memorandum of Agreement (CISMOA) designed specifically for India is called COMCASA.
The historic COMCASA (Communications, Compatibility, and Security Agreement) was signed between India and the United States.
With the help of the COMCASA, communication security equipment from the US will be sent to India.
This will enable "interoperability" between the two militaries and maybe with other armed forces that utilise systems with U.S. origin for secure data communications.