India, Aug. 26 -- Senior Indian and US officials discussed cooperation in key areas such as trade and investment, energy security, counter-terrorism and the signing of a new 10-year framework for the Major Defence Partnership at a virtual meeting held this week amid a downturn in bilateral ties.

The intersessional dialogue under the 2+2 mechanism, which brings together the foreign and defence ministries of the two countries, was held virtually on August 25, India and the US said in separate statements on Tuesday.

This dialogue is part of preparations for the 2+2 meeting between the defence and foreign ministers of the two sides.

Monday's dialogue saw officials advancing bilateral initiatives, discussing regional security developments, ...