Rajnath Singh And Hegseth Explore Ways To Deepen Defence Ties Ahead Of PM Modi's US Visit

(MENAFN- IANS) New Delhi/Washington, Feb 6 (IANS) Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday spoke with US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth over phone, congratulating him on his confirmation and discussing ways to deepen further the India-US bilateral defence partnership.

"Had an excellent telephonic conversation with my US counterpart Mr Pete Hegseth today. Congratulated him on his confirmation as the new Secretary of Defence on 25th January, 2025. We reviewed the ongoing defence cooperation and explored ways and means to expand and deepen the India-US bilateral defence relationship," Singh posted on X after the phone call.

"We also agreed to chart out an ambitious agenda which includes operational, intelligence, logistics and defence-industrial cooperation. Looking forward to work closely with Secretary Hegseth," the Defence Minister added.

The conversation took place less than a week before Prime Minister Narendra Modi's scheduled visit to Washington and meeting with the US President Donald Trump which would further underscore the strength of the friendship and strategic ties between the two nations.

Launching several new initiatives, India and the United States have deepened defence collaboration over the last 10 years while solidifying India-US strategic partnership which is founded on shared values, including a commitment to democracy and upholding the rules-based international system.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Hegseth's predecessor Lloyd Austin worked closely as Pentagon committed support for India's military modernization, initiatives to drive forward the US-India Roadmap for Defence Industrial Cooperation, strengthening maritime domain awareness in the Indian Ocean Region, and India's support for the rule of law in the Arabian Sea and adjacent waterways.

The launch of the India-US Defence Acceleration Ecosystem (INDUS-X) by the US Department of Defence (DoD) and Indian Defence Ministry in June 2023 advanced the commitment by the Indian and US National Security Advisors (NSAs) to build a defence innovation bridge between the two countries under the initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET).

Several new steps in India-US strategic technology and defence cooperation are expected to be announced next week during PM Modi's visit to the United States.

The US President has already promised to strengthen the "great partnership" with India and PM Modi, continuing the close ties he forged in his first term.

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