US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to visit India next week, meet Rajnath Singh

This is US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s seventh official visit to the Indo-Pacific region. Apart from India, he will visit Japan, Singapore, and France.

us defence secretary lloyd austin india visit

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. (Reuters)

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US DEFENCE Secretary Lloyd J Austin III will visit New Delhi next week as part of a four-nation trip and meet his Indian counterpart Rajnath Singh, the Pentagon said on Thursday.

The visit comes a month ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s official state visit to the White House.

In a statement, the Pentagon said that apart from Singh, Austin will also meet other leaders as both countries continue to modernise the US-India Major Defence Partnership.

“This visit provides an opportunity to accelerate new defense innovation and industrial cooperation initiatives and drive ongoing efforts to expand operational cooperation between the US and Indian militaries,” the statement said.

Apart from India, Austin will also visit Japan, Singapore and France during his trip.

The US has been looking at India as a major defence partner and a top market for export of its military hardware. This was evident in its strong presence at Aero India in Bengaluru in February this year. Leading US defence companies attended the meet, which also saw aerial demonstrations and static display of the latest aircraft from the US.

Amrita Nayak Dutta

Amrita Nayak Dutta writes on defence and national security as part of the national bureau of The Indian Express. In the past, Amrita has extensively reported on the media industry and broadcasting matters, urban affairs, bureaucracy and government policies. In the last 14 years of her career, she has worked in newspapers as well as in the online media space and is well versed with the functioning of both newsrooms. Amrita has worked in the northeast, Mumbai and Delhi. She has travelled extensively across the country, including in far-flung border areas, to bring detailed reports from the ground and has written investigative reports on media and defence. She has been working for The Indian Express since January 2023. ... Read More

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