Washington DC [US], March 21 (ANI): India is a key pillar in US strategy in the Indo-Pacific region and the India-US relationship could be one of the defining partnerships of the 21st century, the US Department of Defence said in a statement on Saturday.
The US Defence Department said Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh agreed to work on areas including information-sharing, logistics cooperation, artificial intelligence, and cooperation in new domains such as space and cyber.
The statement said that Defense Secretary Austin came away from his meetings with Indian officials in New Delhi encouraged by the response from “an increasingly important partner amid today’s rapidly shifting international dynamics.”
Austin stressed the US commitment to allies and partners throughout the region.
“I think working together with like-minded countries who have shared interests is the way you check any aggression in any region,” the US Defence secretary told reporters traveling with him.
The statement further said that the US and India have begun military exercises together and have worked in some counter-piracy operations together.
“India – traditionally a non-aligned state – sees converging strategic interests with the United States in this regard. The US and India have begun military exercises together and have worked in some operations together – most notably a counter-piracy effort off the coast of East Africa and in the Gulf of Aden,” the statement said.
Discussed opportunities to strengthen US-India strategic ties with Jaishankar: Defence Secy Austin
United States Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin termed his meeting with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Saturday as “productive” and expressed gratitude for the chance to discuss opportunities to strengthen the US-India strategic partnership.
“Productive meeting today with S Jaishankar. Grateful for the opportunity to discuss opportunities to strengthen the US-India strategic partnership and expand our cooperation with other regional partners to uphold peace & prosperity in the Indo-Pacific and Western Indian Ocean,” Defence Secretary Austin tweeted.
EAM on Saturday met US Defence Secretary Austin and had a wide-ranging conversation on the global strategic situation. Jaishankar said in a tweet that he looked forward to working with Austin to enhance the strategic partnership.
“Welcomed US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin at MEA. A wide-ranging conversation on the global strategic situation. Look forward to working with him on enhancing our strategic partnership,” EAM Jaishankar said.
Austin, who is on a three-day official visit to India, met Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday and had delegation-level talks at Vigyan Bhawan.
The discussions focused on wide-ranging defence cooperation and expanding military-to-military engagement across services, information sharing, cooperation in emerging sectors of defence, and mutual logistics support.
Defence Minister Singh said that Austin’s three-day visit to India during the coronavirus pandemic “shows the abiding commitment” of the US to the bilateral ties.
Austin arrived here on Friday and met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval. (ANI)
