Welcome to Foreign Policy’s South Asia Brief.

The highlights this week: U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin prepare to meet their counterparts in India, New Delhi grapples with toxic air, and Pakistan officially sets an election date amid political uncertainty.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin meet their Indian counterparts on Thursday and Friday in New Delhi during the 2+2 ministerial dialogue—an annual exchange that enables India and the United States to take stock of their relationship and discuss future priorities.

Cooperation to counter China through both military and nonmilitary tools will be a focal point during the meetings. Both sides will discuss ongoing efforts to strengthen India’s military—as a senior U.S. Defense Department official highlighted in September—and to boost India’s technology clout to reduce global reliance on Chinese technology resources, especially semiconductors.

Other issues currently driving bilateral cooperation, from trade and clean energy to collaboration on higher education, will likely be discussed as well. The fact that  India-U.S. cooperation is multifaceted—and not limited to China-related considerations—attests to the partnership’s good health. This year’s 2+2 dialogue comes at a moment when U.S.-India ties are in a very good place, having emerged relatively unscathed from recent global shocks relevant to the partnership.

So far, the relationship appears strong enough to withstand such shocks. In September, Canada—a critical U.S. ally—accused India of involvement in a state-sponsored assassination on Canadian soil. But Washington did not turn on New Delhi. U.S. officials have called on India to cooperate with Canada, but U.S. public messaging has been restrained. It doesn’t seem like U.S.-India relations have suffered significantly from the bombshell allegation.

Then came the Israel-Hamas war. India has historically balanced its relations with the Israelis and Palestinians. But after the horrific Hamas attack on Oct. 7, India expressed solidarity with Israel—while also reiterating its support for a two-state solution. India views the war through a counterterrorism lens, and its position has been nearly in lockstep with that of the United States, a close ally of Israel.

But the war could deal a minor blow to U.S.-India relations by temporarily constraining their cooperation in the Middle East. The conflict has likely put new initiatives on hold, such as an envisioned Middle East-India transport corridor and cooperation among the I2U2 grouping of India, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and the United States.

Meanwhile, Russia’s war in Ukraine rages on, and India continues to acquire Russian oil and refrain from taking a strong stand against Moscow. However, India’s Russian oil imports declined in October amid rising prices, which may create an opening for the United States—a top crude oil supplier to India in the past two years. At the 2+2 dialogue, Blinken and Austin will likely make the case that Russia will not make a viable partner in the long term.

There are still issues to be ironed out between India and the United States, ranging from disagreements over export controls that complicate technology transfers to more fundamental differences. Among those are Washington’s concerns about New Delhi’s democratic backsliding, India’s refusal to join the alliance system, and contrasting concepts of the world order. India emphasizes more multilateralism, which risks diluting U.S. power and empowering entities dominated by China (such as the BRICS grouping) that undermine U.S. interests.

Given the deep trust and strategic convergences that undergird the India-U.S. partnership, these issues don’t constrain it today. But the two sides have a strong incentive to prevent any drift in the months ahead. Elections loom in both countries next year, meaning less attention will be paid to the partnership as governments prioritize domestic policy.

A potential boost may come at the start of 2024: India has reportedly invited U.S. President Joe Biden to serve as the chief guest of its Republic Day parade on Jan. 26, perhaps to coincide with a Quadrilateral Security Dialogue leaders’ summit. If Biden accepts the invitation, the relationship will receive another jolt of momentum to tide it over as Washington and New Delhi fully shift into election season.

New Delhi’s toxic air. For nearly a week, New Delhi has had some of the worst air quality in the world. The city’s air pollution typically worsens this time of year, when farmers in the nearby states of Haryana and Punjab burn off crop residues and wind carries the smoky air into the capital, where it is exacerbated by New Delhi’s own pollution. This year, schools have closed, people have fallen ill, and athletes in town for the Cricket World Cup are complaining about playing conditions.

Officials have sought to dissuade farmers from so-called stubble-burning by imposing fines, which local authorities in Haryana said have led to significant decreases in crop-burning this season. But many farmers can’t afford the expensive technology needed to remove crop residue from their fields. Indian authorities are also trying to ease the crisis by reducing emissions in New Delhi; next week, they will limit vehicular traffic in the capital.

However, India’s government has more long-term plans to ease pollution in the capital—as part of a broader strategy to make transport a greener industry, the plans include attracting more investment to India’s electric vehicle sector and making green hydrogen a key transport fuel. If these goals are met, future Novembers could bring significantly cleaner air to New Delhi.

Pakistan announces election date. Pakistan’s election commission has announced that national elections will take place on Feb. 8, 2024, ending weeks of political uncertainty. The country’s parliament was dissolved in August; usually, the constitution stipulates that elections must happen within 90 days. But they were delayed because new census results were announced just before the government stepped down, requiring new constituency boundaries.

The election date decision is significant for Pakistan’s severely stressed economy. Key donors, including the International Monetary Fund, have signaled a desire for less political uncertainty in Pakistan, which means that the country may now find it easier to bring in foreign investment.

However, another election delay can’t be ruled out. The powerful military’s top leadership doesn’t want to see the party of former Prime Minister Imran Khan, who is in jail but remains popular, return to power. It could find pretexts—from growing terrorism threats to the constituency boundary adjustments—to push back the elections again. But the economic situation gives the military strong motivations not to meddle further with the electoral calendar.

Cricket World Cup update. The men’s Cricket World Cup, which is hosted by India this year, has entered its final two weeks. Five of South Asia’s eight countries are participating. India has been the most dominant team by far; it remains undefeated. Pakistan started off slow, but it has righted itself in recent days. Afghanistan seemed like a Cinderella-story team at first—with upsets over Pakistan and defending champion England—but it collapsed in a key matchup with Australia this week. Bangladesh and Sri Lanka are near the bottom of the standings.

On Monday, Sri Lanka took the dramatic step of firing its national cricket board after a humiliating loss to India. Sri Lankan Sports Minister Roshan Ranasinghe announced the creation of a temporary interim committee that includes a former national cricket hero and two retired Supreme Court judges. The reaction in Colombo, seen alongside the euphoric crowds taking to the streets in Kabul to celebrate Afghanistan’s early tournament victories, offer a reminder of just how important cricket is to the region.

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Last Friday, a powerful earthquake shook the mountains of northwest Nepal, with the epicenter around 250 miles northwest of Kathmandu. More than 150 people died, more than 300 were wounded, and thousands more were displaced; the death toll could still increase. The Friday earthquake was the deadliest in Nepal since a catastrophic temblor in April 2015 that killed around 9,000 people and caused immense economic losses.

Rescue efforts have been hampered by poor infrastructure, difficult-to-access terrain, and landslides triggered by the earthquake. Another weaker quake slammed Nepal on Monday. Among other countries, India, China, and the United States have all offered assistance. On Sunday, New Delhi—one of Kathmandu’s closest partners—announced it had dispatched medicines and other relief goods.

However, Nepal has also downplayed the need for foreign aid, although the government won’t decline any assistance that comes in. An unnamed government secretary quoted in local media said the country had developed the capacity to manage its own emergency response efforts after its experiences following the 2015 earthquake, and more recently, the COVID-19 pandemic.

Indian American technology entrepreneur Vivek Wadhwa explains in the Hindustan Times why he believes that India is a better place to launch a start-up than Silicon Valley. In India, “you can hire top-notch talent for less than 10% of what it costs in the Valley, and pathology data needed to train machine-learning algorithms is available in abundance,” he writes.

A Pakistan Today editorial warns that terrorism heightens security risks for Pakistan’s upcoming election. “If the forces which are conducting the election cannot provide the requisite security, then there are remote chances of the election yielding a government which can tackle the country’s problems,” the writers argue.

In the Dhaka Tribune, Academic Pranab Kumar Panday argues that Bangladesh’s “contentious political culture” inhibits sustainable democracy. Creating a culture based “on collaboration and consensus-building is of utmost importance for Bangladesh to safeguard the enduring stability and prosperity of its democratic institutions,” he writes.

Michael Kugelman is the director of the South Asia Institute at the Wilson Center in Washington.