US Defense Secretary’s visit to India: An official statement issued by the US Department of Defense said that Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III will embark on a four-nation tour, including India, starting next week. According to the statement, Austin’s first stop is in Tokyo, where he will meet with Japanese Defense Minister Yasukasu Hamada and other senior leaders, and meet with US troops stationed in Japan.
Following the historic US-Japan “2+2” Ministerial Summit earlier this year, Secretary Austin’s visit comes as the two countries work together to modernize alliance capabilities, improve US military status, and share common vision. Significant progress has been made in establishing relationships with partners.
Secretary Austin will connect with top ASEAN leaders
Later, Secretary Austin will fly to Singapore where he will participate in the 20th Shangri-La Dialogue of the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS). The Secretary will also engage with key leaders outside the dialogue in support of our shared vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific, based on ASEAN centrality, to advance U.S. defense engagement across the region.
Austin will meet Rajnath Singh during his visit to India
After completing his visit to Singapore, Secretary Austin will travel to India. He will meet the Defense Minister at the third stop in New Delhi. Rajnath Singh And the United States and India as other leaders continue to modernize the US-India major defense partnership.
According to officials, the visit provides an opportunity to accelerate new defense innovation and industrial collaboration initiatives and drive ongoing efforts to expand operational cooperation between the US and Indian militaries. Secretary Austin will conclude his trip in France to participate in events commemorating the 79th anniversary of D-Day and meet with French and United Kingdom defense leaders.
Read also: US Defense Minister Lloyd Austin arrived in India today on a three-day visit
India America relations
It must be mentioned here that the relations between India and the United States date back to the time of India’s independence movement and have continued even after independence from the United Kingdom in 1947. At present, India and the US have close ties and have deepened cooperation on issues such as counter-terrorism. and countering Chinese influence in the Indo-Pacific.
Bilateral relations between the two countries have developed into a “Global Strategic Partnership” based on shared democratic values and growing convergence of interests on bilateral, regional and global issues. Today, India-US bilateral cooperation is broad-based and multi-sectoral, covering trade and investment, defense and security, education, science and technology, cyber security, high technology, civil nuclear energy, space technology and applications, clean energy, environment , Agriculture and Health.
(with inputs from agencies)