Defence Minister Rajnath Singh Holds Call With US Counterpart Hegseth, Reviews Ongoing Defence Cooperation

Rajnath Singh said Hegseth reviewed various aspects of the bilateral defence ties in a phone conversation that came less than a week before Prime Minister Narendra Modi's planned trip to Washington.

File photo of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.

Source : PTI

New Delhi: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and his American counterpart, Pete Hegseth, agreed on Thursday to work on a 10-year comprehensive framework to bolster the India-US defence partnership, especially in the spheres of intelligence, logistics, operational and industrial engagement.

Singh said Hegseth reviewed various aspects of the bilateral defence ties in a phone conversation that came less than a week before Prime Minister Narendra Modi's planned trip to Washington.

It was Singh's first phone conversation with Hegseth after the latter was confirmed as the US defence secretary on January 25.An Indian readout of the conversation said India and the United States have agreed to work together to draft a comprehensive framework on defence cooperation, aimed at structuring the bilateral collaboration for the 2025-2035 period.

Had an excellent telephonic conversation with my US counterpart Mr Pete Hegseth today. Congratulated him on his confirmation as the new @SecDef on 25th January, 2025. We reviewed the ongoing defence cooperation and explored ways and means to expand and deepen the India - U.S.…

— Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) February 6, 2025

It said Singh and Hegseth reviewed the extensive India-US defence cooperation activities, covering multiple domains in land, air, maritime and space.

In a post on X, the defence minister said he and Hegseth reviewed the ongoing India-US defence cooperation and explored ways to further deepen the relationship.Singh described the phone conversation as excellent.

"We reviewed the ongoing defence cooperation and explored ways and means to expand and deepen the India-US bilateral defence relationship," he said.

"We also agreed to chart out an ambitious agenda which includes operational, intelligence, logistics and defence-industrial cooperation," he added.

Looking forward to work closely with Secretary Hegseth, Singh said. Modi and US President Donald Trump, during a phone conversation on January 27, vowed to work towards a trusted partnership, with a focus on boosting the India-US cooperation in the areas of trade, energy and defence.

Following the phone talks, the White House said Trump has emphasised the importance of India increasing its procurement of US-made security equipment and moving towards a fair bilateral trade relationship.

In the readout, the defence ministry said Singh and Hegseth appreciated the ongoing and remarkable expansion of the India-US defence partnership, and reaffirmed their commitment to deepening the ties.

In particular, the two ministers decided to work together on technology cooperation, integration of defence industrial supply chains, enhanced interoperability, logistics and information sharing and joint military exercises, it said.

They also agreed to provide enhanced support to the growing defence innovation collaboration between the governments, start-ups, businesses and academic institutions, it said. The phone conversation between Singh and Hegseth came amid some anguish in India over the US deporting more than 100 Indians in a military transport aircraft.

How to boost the defence bilateral ties is expected to be one of the key focus areas of the talks between Modi and Trump in Washington DC. According to the plan, Modi will travel to Washington DC after concluding his two-day visit to Paris.The prime minister is expected to land in the American capital in the evening of February 12 and he and Trump are expected to hold the talks the next day. It would be the prime minister's first bilateral visit to the US after Trump assumed the presidency for a second term on January 20, following his stunning electoral victory in November last year. 

(This report has been published as part of the auto-generated syndicate wire feed. Apart from the headline, no editing has been done in the copy by ABP Live.)