With Defence Talks On Agenda, US Defence Secretary To Visit India

Lloyd Austin, the United States (US) secretary of defence, will visit India, early June to hold discussions on bilateral defence cooperation said Ely Ratner, the assistant secretary for Indo-Pacific security affairs in the department of defence.

Ratner is a key architect of the administration's defence posture in the region. Rather also said that the India and US are now more strategically aligned than ever before and there is a clear directive from the top leadership in the American system that the defence relationship with India was top priority and could not continue in business as usual mode.

He also hinted major announcements during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the US in June. He further expressed categorical support for co-development and co-production of defence systems to strengthen India's indigenous capabilities.

This would be Austin's second trip to India since taking office in January 2021. He is also travelling to Tokyo and then Singapore, where he will address the Shangrila dialogue before he heads to Delhi on June 4.

The visit comes in the run-up to the visit by PM Modi's state visit, where defence cooperation is expected to figure prominently among the outcomes. Austin is the fourth US cabinet-secretary to visit India this year. Earlier Secretary of State Antony J Blinken, treasury secretary Janet Yellen and commerce secretary Gina Raimondo visited India.