Mike Pompeo and Mark Esper have left for a visit to India. The US Secretary of State and Secretary of Defense are traveling to India, Sri Lanka, the Maldives, and Indonesia for Ministerial and Foreign Secretary’s talks. This is Mike Pompeo’s fourth visit to India.
‘We are traveling to important countries like India, Sri Lanka, Maldives, and Indonesia. I consider it a great thing to travel to friendly countries and to be able to take part in everyone’s progress. It is also a great opportunity to work for free, transparent, and robust development in the Indo-Pacific region, ”Pompeo said on Twitter.
Wheels up for my trip to India, Sri Lanka, Maldives, and Indonesia. Grateful for the opportunity to connect with our partners to promote a shared vision for a free and open #IndoPacific composed of independent, strong, and prosperous nations. pic.twitter.com/IoaJvtsHZC
— Secretary Pompeo (@SecPompeo) October 25, 2020
India and the United States are holding a joint conference on defense and foreign affairs, known as 2 Plus 2. This is the third joint meeting with India. For India, Defense Minister Rajnath Singh and External Affairs Minister S Jayashankar will meet the Mike Pompeo-Esper team.
The purpose of Pompeo’s visit is to strengthen India’s role in South Asia and the Pacific. And the main purpose is to prevent China from trapping small countries in the Asian region economically and defensively. The visit comes in the wake of strong US interest in comprehensive defense foreign policy in the Asian region.
