Indo-American Relations: Jaishankar meets Hegseth in Pentagon; Call defense tie ‘resulting column’ | Bharat News
New Delhi: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar held a bilateral meeting with US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in Pentagon on Wednesday (Tuesday), where he underlined the strategic importance of India-US defense relations, described them as “one of the most resulting columns” of bilateral relations. During the meeting at the Pentagon, the Foreign Minister said: “I am here for a quad meeting … Just a good session with our colleagues from Australia, Japan. I am with you in Pentagon here because we believe that our defense partnership is really one of the most consequential columns of our relationship today.”The meeting came on the heels of the Quad Foreign Ministers’ meeting (QFM) in Washington, which marks another important engagement in a series of high-level India-US interactions.
Jaishankar during a meeting with Hegseth
Hegseth expressed enthusiasm about the growing defense partnership between the two countries. He said that the target of integration of US defense systems and expansion of industrial cooperation and co-production network in India’s armed forces. “America is very happy for successful integration of many American defense goods … Building this progress, we hope that we can meet many major pending US defense sales in India, expand our shared defense industrial cooperation and co-producing network, strengthen interoperability … and formally signed a new structure of US-India Major Defense Partnership.”Hegseth said Washington was eager to work with New Delhi and Jaishankar’s visit was “there was an important milestone in the ongoing range of high-level engagement”“We are eager to work with you to realize our shared goals. They are deeply and walking. Today the journey is an important milestone in the ongoing range of high-level busy busyness between our two great countries.”Jaishankar met with US State Secretary Marco Rubio on the edge of a quad foreign ministers’ meeting (QFFM) in Washington and discussed bilateral partnership between the two countries in the fields of security, important technologies, connectivity, energy and dynamics.
During Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the United States in February, he and President Donald Trump unveiled a plan to formalize a new decade long structure for the US-India major defense partnership. The two leaders praised the growing integration of American-made defense systems in India’s arsenal, now a list in which C-130J Super Hercules and C-17 Globmaster III transport aircraft, P-8i Maritime Petrol Plain, CH-47F Chinook and MH-60R SeahawkK helicopters, AH-644E APACHEE Helicopters, AH-64e Apachepoopters, MQ-9B drones.Further, the two nations also agreed to fast-track procurement and co-producing deals for Javelin anti-tank guided missiles and striker infantry combat vehicles within India, which aimed to rapidly increase the defense capabilities of New Delhi this year.ALSO READ: Donald Trump soon indicates closing the India-US trade deal; Wants to make both sides competitive
