US Army chief arrives on 3-day visit to India

New Delhi, Oct 16 (UNI) US Army Chief General George W Casey arrived here today on a three-day visit to take Indo-US bilateral defence relations to a new high.

Chief of Staff, US Army Gen Casey's visit assumes special significance as he is the first top-ranking US official to come to India after the conclusion of the Indo-US nuclear deal.

Besides holding wide-ranging talks on boosting Defence cooperation with his counterpart General Deepak Kapoor, General Casey will also meet the country's top military brass and visit Defence estabishments.

Defence purchases are likey to be high on the agenda during the US General's discussion with officials here as India had recently joined the elite 'nuclear club' with 'enormous support' from the United States.

The US expects India to reciprocate the gesture through not just level playing field for its nuclear plants suppling companies but in giving it an edge in defence purchases as well.

Defence ties between both countries, through various exchanges and multi-million dollar military purchases among others, has seen as upswing in recent years and is likely to form the bedrock of the bilateral relations, besides areas where high-end technology is involved.

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