US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin arrives in New Delhi
By Anish Kumar | First Published Mar 19, 2021, 9:03 AM ISTThis the first high-level visit to New Delhi from the newly-elected Joe Biden administration.
United States Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin arrived in New Delhi on Friday at 4 pm and meet National Security Advisor Ajit Doval.
On Saturday, he will call on Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar to discuss the ways to further enhance the bilateral ties including defence between two countries.
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This the first high-level visit to New Delhi from the newly-elected Joe Biden administration.
It is expected that the discussion will revolve around China's belligerence in the border areas, Indo-US defence cooperation, QUAD cooperation and upcoming defence deals.
Issues like maritime domain awareness, bilateral and multilateral military exercises and increased collaboration in the Indian Ocean region will also be discussed in the meeting.
On the last day of his visit, he will call on Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Austin embarked on his Indo-Pacific visit on March 13, a day after heads of QUAD nations -- India, Australia, Japan and the US -- virtually met for the first leaders' summit.
The QUAD leaders discussed working towards an open and rules-based Indo-Pacific region. The QUAD countries also pointed out the challenges posed by China in the Indo-Pacific region and how the partnerships can be strengthened to overcome the assertiveness of China.
Before heading the course to India, Austin visited Japan and South Korea.
India and the US share close defence cooperation with Washington authorising over $20 billion in defence sales to India.
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