The two-plus-two dialogue could now be held either in May or June.

NEW DELHI: India and the United States are working on rescheduling the maiden “two-plus-two” dialogue between the foreign ministers and defence ministers of the two sides, after the meeting fixed for April 18 and 19 had to be postponed because it was not certain that Mike Pompeo, the new secretary of state, would get his Senate confirmation before April 18. The two-plus-two dialogue could now be held either in May or June.

Ahead of that, the two sides are planning to hold a senior minister level dialogue in April to maintain the momentum in strategic partnership as they prepare for the first two-plus-two dialogue, people aware of the matter said.

Foreign minister Sushma Swaraj and defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman were earlier scheduled to travel to Washington for the dialogue. But last week, President Donald Trump suddenly removed secretary of state Rex Tillerson and appointed Pompeo in his place, necessitating postponement of the dialogue. The spring recess of the US Congress begins on March 22 and lawmakers would resume their legislative business on April 2.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which holds the confirmation hearing, has not scheduled it on its calendar yet.

Once Pompeo’s nomination process breezes through this committee, it would go to the Senate floor for a vote.

Pompeo is meeting Tillerson and US lawmakers ahead of his confirmation hearings. He is already facing opposition from his own party. Republican Senator Rand Paul said on CNN’s ‘State of the Union’ programme on Sunday that he would take all necessary steps to oppose Trump’s nominees for secretary of state and CIA director. The new two-plus-two Indo-US dialogue was announced when Prime Minister Narendra Modi had a successful meeting with President Trump at the White House in June last year. Earlier, under the Obama administration, India and the US held a dialogue that included the commerce minister along with the foreign minister.