Defense Minister Rajnath Singh termed his discussion with U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin as "excellent." He further termed the signing of two major defense agreements during his visit to the United States as "pathbreaking.".
After the ceremonial reception at the Pentagon, Singh took to social media to express his satisfaction, saying, "Excellent meeting with my dear friend @SecDef Lloyd Austin." He mentioned that the two sides reviewed the ongoing defense collaborations and discussed ways to take them forward.
The newly signed agreements include SOSA and another memorandum that paves the way for placing Indian officers at key military commands of the U.S. Both the agreements were signed on Thursday, according to a note of the Defence Ministry tweeted by social media officials who added that the Security of Supplies Arrangement was finalised along with a Memorandum of Agreement regarding Liaison Officers.
Details of the said agreements have not been disclosed yet. Singh also visited the Arlington National Cemetery and paid respects at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. The two officials were also scheduled to discuss almost everything, from close coordination and partnership to their mutual commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific region.
A full round-up of their discussions is expected later today. In the past few years, defense ties between the U.S. and India have tightened; military and defense trade has risen to over $20 billion by 2020 from next to nothing in 2008. Co-production and co-development are currently at the core of their defense partnership. A case in point is the news of June 2023 that General Electric came into a deal with India's Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. for the co-production of F-414 fighter jet engines.
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