India-US 2 plus 2 on Oct 26-27, geospatial pact BECA to be signed
US Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Beigun to arrive in Delhi mid-October to firm up bilaterals.
The third India-US two plus two dialogue is expected to take place here on October 26-27 with the Narendra Modi government ready to sign the Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement (BECA) for geo-spatial cooperation. The last of four military communication foundational agreements, BECA is an important precursor to India acquiring armed drones such as the MQ-9B from the US as the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) uses spatial data for pinpointed strikes on enemy targets. The India-US interaction at the ministerial level will expand sharply this month with external affairs minister S Jaishankar meeting his US counterpart Mike Pompeo at the Quad security dialogue in Tokyo on October 6. This will be followed by the visit of US deputy secretary of state Stephen Beigun in mid-October and finally US defence secretary Mark Esper and defence minister Rajnath Singh will join the two foreign ministers in the two plus two dialogue. While the dates for the two plus two are being finalised, the signing …