INDIA, US AGREE TO FURTHER EXPAND COOPERATION

Sat 20 March 2021:

Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and United States counterpart Lloyd Austin agreed at Saturday meeting to expand India-US cooperation, according to Singh’s statement.

“We are determined to expand India-US cooperation – from bilateral and multilateral exercises to developing closer bilateral linkages,” India’s defense minister said on Twitter.

Singh and his US counterpart discussed several issues “with a focus on enhancing defence information sharing, cooperation in emerging domains of defence, mutual logistics support, and expanding military-to-military engagements across services,” the minister added.

Both sides agreed on increased cooperation between the Indian military and the US Indo-Pacific, Central and Africa Commands.

The Indian minister said that both sides agreed there were opportunities for partnership in the defense industry and added that the recent and first Leaders’ Summit of India, US, Japan and Australia emphasized the resolve to maintain a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific.

“Today we reaffirmed that closer India-US cooperation in partnership with countries keen to uphold rules-based order, can promote security and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region and beyond,” the minister said.

Austin echoed his counterpart’s words on strengthening ties. The US defense secretary said his visit aimed to bring forth the Biden-Harris administration’s message about America’s commitment to its allies and partners said The Hindustan Times.

Austin arrived in India on Friday for a three-day visit.