Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj (L, front) greets U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (R, front) on his arrival in New Delhi, India, on Sept. 5, 2018. (Xinhua/Stringer)

NEW DELHI, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- India's External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman hold dialogue here on Thursday with their respective U.S. counterparts Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Secretary of Defense James Mattis.

Both the Indian ministers resolved to continue meetings in this format on an annual basis, said a joint Indo-U.S. statement released after the bilateral dialogue.

Recognizing that the two countries are strategic partners in world affairs, the Indian ministers agreed to work together with the U.S. sides on regional and global issues, including in bilateral, trilateral, and quadrilateral formats.

According to the joint statement, the two sides decided to establish secure communication between India's external affairs minister and the U.S. secretary of state, and between India's defence minister and the U.S. defence secretary to help maintain regular high-level communication on emerging developments.