Defence, hotline highlight '2+2 talks' debut: India, US ink COMCASA pact

US reiterates support for India's immediate accession to Nuclear Suppliers Group as a full member

At the conclusion of the first ever 2+2 dialogue in New Delhi on Thursday, India and the United States signed a key defence pact that had been under negotiation for some years.

The COMCASA, or Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement, would allow greater communications interoperability between the militaries of the two countries. It wasn’t clear if the Indian side received any assurances from the US on New Delhi’s oil imports from Iran, its purchase of a missile system from Russia and its concerns on the proposed changes by the Donald Trump administration to the H1B visa regime.

During the talks, External Affairs