New Delhi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth on Wednesday reviewed the progress of a 10-year India-US defence framework pact that seeks to drive strategic convergence in critical technologies, information sharing, and co-production of military hardware.
We celebrated the one-year anniversary of the Framework for our Major Defense Partnership and explored ways to strengthen cooperation. “We had productive discussions on reviewing our bilateral defence cooperation, enhancing military interoperability, and addressing regional security challenges.
In his wide-ranging talks with Hegseth at Cebu in the Philippines, Singh stressed that the global community must maintain an “uncompromising, zero-tolerance approach” towards nations that support, train, or fund terrorist organisations, according to an Indian readout. Hegseth reaffirmed the United States’ unwavering solidarity and full support to India in its fight against cross-border terrorism and Singh expressed India’s “deep appreciation” for the consistent and strong support extended by the US, it said. The US Secretary of War, on his part, said: “Great meeting with Indian Minister of Defence Singh. The defence ministry said both sides noted the robust progression of their foundational security agreements and explored fresh pathways to accelerate operational readiness, technology sharing and defence industrial integration while reflecting on the ongoing collaboration. “The discussions touched upon advancing military-to-military exchanges, augmenting maritime security collaboration, and integrating robust defence supply chains to further deepen and expand ongoing defence industry collaboration,” the defence ministry said. “Secretary Hegseth and Minister Singh also exchanged views on areas for further collaboration and committed to expanding the US-India major defence partnership in support of shared interests across the region,” it said. India places great value on its Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with Australia for a free, open, and secure Indo-Pacific,” the defence minister said.
