Union Minister Rajnath Singh speaks to US Defence Secretary Austin

“Had a telephonic conversation with my friend, @SecDef Mr Lloyd Austin and briefly discussed a range of bilateral, regional security and defence cooperation issues,” Singh said on ‘X’. “We also discussed ways and means to implement the India-US Defence Cooperation Roadmap which was concluded last year,” he said.

Had a telephonic conversation with my friend, @SecDef Mr Lloyd Austin and briefly discussed a range of bilateral, regional security and defence cooperation issues. We also discussed ways and means to implement the India-US Defence Cooperation Roadmap which was concluded last…

— Rajnath Singh (मोदी का परिवार) (@rajnathsingh) March 18, 2024

The defence ministry said the US defence secretary appreciated the important role being played by the Indian Navy in conducting anti-piracy operations in the Indian Ocean Region. “Other defence industrial cooperation issues such as repair of US naval ships in Indian shipyards were also briefly discussed,” it said in a statement.

As the Major Defense Partnership between the United States and India continues to strengthen, I was glad to speak with my counterpart Minister Singh today to talk about how we’re advancing a shared regional vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific. https://t.co/ikcsB7HX30

— Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III (@SecDef) March 18, 2024

It said both Singh and Austin also reviewed the recent bilateral events such as the INDUS-X summit held in Delhi last month.