Defence Ministers of India and US on Monday reviewed their bilateral defence and strategic ties and took stock of the situation in Afghanistan. These telephonic talks between Rajnath Singh and Lloyd Austin came days before the summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Joe Biden in Washington on September 24.
The two heads of state will also participate in the first in person Quad summit there the same day along with Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga. Biden is hosting the summit at the White House.
The focus of the Quad summit and Modi-Biden bilateral talks is likely to be Afghanistan, Indo-Pacific in the context of China flexing its maritime muscle and the ongoing fight against the Corona pandemic.
Incidentally, talks between Rajnath and Austin came in the backdrop of formation of Australia, US and UK grouping called AUKUS last week to counter China’s growing military prowess.
Giving details of Rajnath’s talks with Austin, defence ministry officials said the telephone call was made by the US Secretary of Defence.
Both the leaders discussed bilateral and regional matters, including developments in Afghanistan. They discussed defence cooperation and looked forward to working closely.
The two ministers also exchanged views about combating terrorism in the region. Both sides appreciated the mutual cooperation in the recent evacuation operations in Afghanistan and agreed to remain in regular contact in view of the evolving situation.
While two ministers have talked on the phone in the past few months, Austin also visited India in March this year to hold bilateral talks with Rajnath.
He had said after the talks then India is committed to further strengthen its robust defence partnership with the US. He also urged the US defence equipment manufacturing industry to make good use of the liberalised foreign direct investment (FDI) policies in the defence sector.
US Defence Secretary Austin reiterated Singh’s words on strengthening ties, stating that his visit was primarily to convey the Biden-Harris administration’s message about the commitment to America’s allies and partners.
India was designated as a ‘Major Defence Partner’ by the United States in 2016.
The US in the past one decade has sold defence equipment including aircraft, helicopters and artillery guns to India amounting to more than 15 billion dollars.
Signifying the growing ties between the two countries, India in the last four to five years signed three “foundational agreements” with the US. “Acknowledging that we have in place the foundational agreements, Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA), Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA) and Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement for Geospatial Intelligence (BECA), we discussed steps to be taken to realise their full potential for mutual benefit,” the defence ministry statement said after Rajnath’s talks with Austin in New Delhi.