US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to visit India next week, Indo-Pacific talks on agenda
The US Secretary of Defence Llloyd Austin will visit India from March 19 to 21 and will hold discussions with his Indian counterpart Rajnath Singh.
US Secretary of Defence Llloyd Austin
In the first overseas trip of a senior member of the new Biden Administration, US Secretary of Defence Llloyd Austin will be in India from March 19 to 21. During his visit, Secretary Lloyd Austin will hold discussions with his Indian counterpart Rajnath Singh on the bilateral defence ties as well as regional and global issues of mutual interest.
“Both sides are expected to discuss ways to further strengthen bilateral defence cooperation and exchange views on regional security challenges and common interests in maintaining a free, open, and inclusive Indo-Pacific region,” a government statement said.
Discussions regarding defence cooperation would also focus on how both countries could consolidate military-to-military cooperation and defence trade and industry cooperation.
In January, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and his counterpart Austin emphasized Washington’s commitment to the Major Defence Partnership with New Delhi. The two leaders also held talks over the two countries’ vision of an open and free Indo-Pacific region.
The visit will happen a week after the first quad summit to be attended virtually by heads of states of India, USA, Australia, and Japan.
Lloyd Austin will embark on his first overseas trip on March 13 to visit the US Indo-Pacific Command Headquarters in Hawaii, US troops and senior government leaders in Japan and the Republic of Korea, and senior government leaders in India, PTI reported.
Secretary Austin’s visit to India as part of his first overseas travel emphasizes the strength of the India-US strategic partnership, the government statement added.
