Defence Minister Rajnath Singh today held a meeting with the visiting US Secretary of Defence Mark T Esper ahead of the 2+2 ministerial dialogue between the two countries tomorrow.

The meetings held at the South Block are part of the dialogue between Esper and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who arrived in New Delhi Monday afternoon, and their Indian counterparts, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Foreign Minister S Jaishankar.

Various crucial issues like bilateral, regional, and global concern – including China's efforts to expand impact in the Indo-Pacific region as well as its aggressive behaviour in eastern Ladakh – will figure in the talks.

To boost the strategic partnership between the two countries, the last of the four military communication foundational agreements – Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement for Geospatial Cooperation (BECA) – is also expected to be signed between both the countries.

The signing of BECA would allow India to use global geospatial maps of the US for accuracy of stand-off weapons like cruise and ballistic missiles. It would also allow sharing information on maps and satellite images for defence.

Marine Information Sharing Technical Arrangement between both the countries is another pact expected to get signed tomorrow..