Defence Minister Rajnath Singh held a bilateral meeting with US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin at the Pentagon in the US on Friday. He reviewed the existing defence cooperation activities between the two countries and stressed on deepening them further. During this, Rajdhan Singh held extensive discussions on bilateral defence cooperation, industrial cooperation, regional security and other international issues.
In fact, Rajnath Singh arrived in the US on Thursday on a four-day official visit to further promote the comprehensive global strategic partnership between the two countries. During this, he met the US Defense Minister and discussed many issues. Both the ministers expressed happiness over the conclusion of the Security of Supply Arrangement (SOSA) between India and the US. Both the ministers also welcomed the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between India and the US regarding the deployment of liaison officers. Accordingly, India will deploy the first liaison officer at Headquarters Special Operations Command in Florida, USA.
The two ministers appreciated the progress made in implementing the Quad initiative, Indo-Pacific Maritime Domain Awareness, and efforts being made by India to enhance maritime domain awareness for partners in the Indian Ocean region. They welcomed the ongoing Indian participation in the Combined Maritime Forces (CMF) and noted that India will deploy Indian naval personnel to the Combined Task Force 150 headquarters of the CMF in 2025.
The Defence Minister and Secretary Austin appreciated the efforts of the India-US Defence Acceleration Ecosystem (Indus-X) for establishing a defence innovation bridge between the two countries. They commended Indus-X for establishing strong networks across start-ups, industry, academia and governments, accelerating the adoption of cutting-edge technologies and enhancing war-fighting capabilities of both sides.
After the meeting, Rajnath Singh said in a post on X, “Had a wonderful meeting with my dear friend Lloyd Austin. We reviewed the ongoing defence cooperation activities and discussed ways to deepen it further. The signing of the Supply Security Arrangement and the agreement for deployment of Indian officers in key US commands are historic developments.”