15 February 2013

India: Meeting of India-U.S. Joint Working Group on UN Peacekeeping


The India-U.S. Joint Working Group on UN Peacekeeping, which was given greater impetus by the meeting between President Obama and Prime Minister Singh in November 2010, held its 10th meeting in Washington on February 13, 2013. The Indian delegation was led by Ministry of External Affairs Joint Secretary for United Nations Political Affairs Pavan Kapoor, and comprised officials from the Indian Ministries of External Affairs, Defence, and Home Affairs. The U.S. delegation was led by Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs Esther Brimmer, and comprised officials from the U.S. Departments of State and Defense.

At the meeting, India and the United States advanced a number of goals laid out in the Declaration of Principles the Joint Working Group agreed upon in 2011. The Joint Working Group also continued in-depth consultations on UN peacekeeping issues, and explored an agreement on a set of Principles of India-U.S. Cooperation in the Area of Training UN Peacekeepers and institutional arrangements between their peacekeeping institutions. Both sides welcomed the open and comprehensive nature of the discussions, and agreed the talks helped advance their shared commitment to supporting and strengthening United Nations peacekeeping operations, and their mutual interest in assuring the success of UN peacekeeping missions. Both sides agreed that the 11th meeting of the Working Group will be held in New Delhi in 2014.