Defence and security was a major plank of the India-US 2+2 meeting, with both sides affirming the ambitions for building an advanced and comprehensive defence partnership in which the US and Indian militaries coordinate closely together across all domains. The joint statement also called for concerted action against all terrorist groups, including groups proscribed by the UNSC 1267 Sanctions Committee, such as al-Qa'ida, ISIS/Daesh, Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LeT), and Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), and Hizb ul Mujahideen. The four Ministers –Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, and their US counterparts Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken, also called on Pakistan to take immediate, sustained, and irreversible action to ensure that no territory under its control is used for terrorist attacks. The Ministers acknowledged the importance of deepening collaboration in science and technology in the India-U.S. Joint Technical Group (JTG), and in evolving new defense domains, including space, artificial intelligence (AI), and cyber. They welcomed plans to conduct an inaugural Defense Space Dialogue in 2022. They decided to hold an inaugural AI Dialogue this year to harness opportunities for joint innovation and cooperation in new domains, a joint statement said. The Ministers also discussed additional training opportunities for our respective militaries, and the United States welcomed enhanced Indian participation in advanced courses across these emerging domains. The Ministers welcomed progress made toward full implementation of the Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement (BECA), signed during the last 2+2, to support the exchange of geospatial information. They noted that information exchange and placement of liaison officers in each other's military organizations will spur joint service cooperation between our militaries to support integrated and multi-domain cooperation. The two sides discussed opportunities to further advance and deepen maritime cooperation, including in underwater domain awareness in the Indian Ocean Region and the wider Indo-Pacific. The US welcomed India's decision to join the Combined Maritime Forces Task Force as an Associate Partner to expand multilateral cooperation in the Indian Ocean. The Combined Maritime Forces (CMF) is a multi-national naval partnership, which exists to promote security, stability and prosperity across approximately 3.2 million square miles of international waters, which encompass some of the world's most important shipping lanes. CMF's main focus areas are defeating terrorism, preventing piracy, encouraging regional cooperation, and promoting a safe maritime environment. The Ministers welcomed regular bilateral logistics operations such as replenishments at sea, air-to-air and ground-refueling and committed to increasing such cooperation, including through the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA). Both sides reaffirmed the importance of regular bilateral and multilateral exercises, including the MALABAR exercise with inclusion of Australia, the tri-service TIGER TRIUMPH exercise, the multilateral MILAN naval exercise, the bilateral YUDH ABHYAS and VAJRA PRAHAR Army exercises, the bilateral COPE India air exercise, and Indian participation in RED FLAG. They supported increasing the scope and complexity of these exercises. They looked forward to deepening cooperation between the Special Forces of both countries. Recognizing the importance of building robust private industry collaboration, the Ministers welcomed ongoing projects under the auspices of the India-U.S. Defense Technology and Trade Initiative (DTTI), including a project agreement to co-develop Air-Launched UAVs. They called on both sides to consider additional DTTI projects, such as a counter-unmanned aerial systems (UAS) system and an Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance (ISTAR) platform. They also lauded the rapid growth in bilateral defense trade over the past decade. The Ministers welcomed the progress made towards implementation of the Industrial Security Agreement to facilitate collaboration on cutting edge defense technologies between industries. Both sides would explore and further promote the means to encourage reciprocal participation of U.S. and Indian vendors in each other's defense supply chains. Acknowledging India's focus on developing its domestic capabilities and helping to ensure reliable defense supplies, the Ministers committed to work closely across their respective governments on co-production, co-development, cooperative testing of advanced systems, investment promotion, and the development of Maintenance Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facilities in India. To further enhance defense industrial cooperation in the naval sector, both sides agreed to explore possibilities of utilizing the Indian shipyards for repair and maintenance of ships of the U.S. Maritime Sealift Command (MSC) to support mid-voyage repair of U.S. Naval ships, it said. In counter terrorism and counter narcotics, the Ministers committed to continued exchange of information about sanctions and designations against terror groups and individuals, countering violent radicalism, use of the Internet for terrorist purposes, and cross-border movement of terrorists. They also emphasized the importance of upholding international standards on anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism by all countries, consistent with FATF recommendations. The Ministers also reaffirmed their support for the early adoption of a UN Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism (CCIT) that advances and strengthens the framework for global cooperation and reinforces that no cause or grievance justifies terrorism. Both sides looked forward to the next India-U.S. Counter Narcotics Working Group meeting in 2022 and enhancing cooperation through a bilateral Counter-Narcotics Framework to combat drug trafficking, illicit narcotics production, and precursor chemical supply chains. Building upon the recent Senior Officials Meeting between the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and India's Ministry of Home Affairs, both sides looked forward to reconvening a Ministerial meeting of the India-U.S. Homeland Security Dialogue in 2022. In the sphere of science, Technology, Cybersecurity, and Space, the two sides welcomed the announcement of a Joint Commission Meeting on Science and Technology in 2022, to discuss future science and technology collaboration. They applauded the recent and upcoming meetings of the India-U.S. Cyber Dialogue and the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Working Group to deepen cybersecurity cooperation. The Ministers announced the conclusion of a Memorandum of Understanding on Space Situational Awareness and pledged to expand bilateral space cooperation, acknowledging the pivotal role international cooperation plays in the long-term sustainability and safety of the outer-space environment. They applauded the ongoing development of the NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) satellite, planned for launch from India in 2023. The NISAR mission will collect data vital to tackling the climate crisis. The Ministers also looked forward to the convening of the next India-U.S. Civil Space Joint Working Group in 2022. The Ministers expressed appreciation for the continued cooperation between the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and India's Ministry of Earth Science (MoES) and ISRO in areas such as ocean and fisheries science, meteorology, and earth observation.