New Delhi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth on Wednesday reviewed the progress of a 10-year India-US defence framework pact that seeks to drive strategic convergence in critical technologies, information sharing, and co-production of military hardware.
The India-US defence ties have been on an upswing notwithstanding continuing strain in diplomatic relations between the two countries under the Trump administration. “We had productive discussions on reviewing our bilateral defence cooperation, enhancing military interoperability, and addressing regional security challenges. “We reviewed the progress of our 10-year India-US Defence Framework, driving strategic convergence across military technology, information sharing, and co-production. In October 2020, the two sides sealed the BECA to further boost bilateral defence ties.
In a social media post, the defence minister described his talks with Hegseth as “excellent”. Our robust partnership continues to be a cornerstone for a free, open, and secure Indo-Pacific,” he said. The US Secretary of War, on his part, said: “Great meeting with Indian Minister of Defence Singh.We celebrated the one-year anniversary of the Framework for our Major Defense Partnership and explored ways to strengthen cooperation. India places great value on its Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with Australia for a free, open, and secure Indo-Pacific,” the defence minister said.
India and the US inked the defence framework pact in October last year that sets an ambitious roadmap to further bolster the bilateral defence partnership between the two strategic partners.
