Ahead of the third India-US 2+2 Ministerial dialogue on October 27, the ministers and the US secretaries held bilateral meetings on Monday. While Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and his counterpart, Mark Esper, met early evening on October 26, the External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar is scheduled to meet his counterpart, Mike Pompeo, at 7 pm at Hyderabad House, later in the evening. The two sides are expected to finalise the long-pending Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement (BECA) agreement to further boost bilateral defence ties. Watch the video for more.Also Read: India's energy future is bright, secure: PM Modi at India Energy Forum

The first edition of the India-US 2+2 dialogue was held in New Delhi in September 2018 after the mechanism was approved by the head of state of both countries

The US State Department also said the US is looking forward to work closely with India during the latter's upcoming UNSC term, starting January 1, 2021

India is closing in on an agreement with the United States that will give it access to satellite data for better accuracy of missiles and drones

Pompeo will hold two-way talks in Colombo on Oct. 28, a spokesman for Sri Lanka's foreign ministry said

At a virtual summit on increased U.S.-Brazil cooperation aimed at post-pandemic recovery, Pompeo underscored the importance of expanding bilateral economic ties, given what he called \"enormous risk\" stemming from China's significant participation in their economies

The United States has denounced China's treatment of Uighur and other minority Muslims in Xinjiang and imposed sanctions on officials it blames for abuses

India and China are locked in a bitter border standoff in eastern Ladakh since early May that has significantly strained the bilateral ties

China was the first to report the outbreak, identified the pathogen and shared the genome sequence with the world, said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson

Trump and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo have also been reaching out to their counterparts across the world against China

Jaishankar and Motegi are also understood to have discussed preparations for the annual India-Japan summit which is likely to take place by end of this year

Pompeo on Tuesday visited Japan and called for deeper cooperation with Australia, India and Japan to counter China's growing regional influence

The East Asia visit, Pompeo's first in more than a year, coincides with worsening tensions with China

Motegi met Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar a day after four-way Quad talks among the foreign ministers of Australia, India, Japan and the United States

While Pompeo and Jaishankar talk over the phone at frequent intervals, this is their first meeting after the recent border incursions by China in India

The Quad is an informal grouping of likeminded partners formed to deepen cooperation on sub-regional issues and shape a more closely-aligned Indo-Pacific region

The top US diplomat says he is reconsidering upcoming travel to Florida on Saturday and Asia starting Sunday as a precaution

That is 30 days after Secretary of State Mike Pompeo notified the council that Iran was in significant non-performance with its obligations under the accord, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA

US President Donald Trump has warned Iran of a '1,000 times greater in magnitude' retaliation in case of any attack amid reports of Tehran's plans to avenge General Qasem Soleimani's killing

Defense Ministry spokesman Col. Wu Qian called the report a wanton distortion of China's aims and the relationship between the People's Liberation Army and China's 1.4 billion people