New Delhi: Days ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the US, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh in a telephonic conversation with his American counterpart Lloyd J Austin on Monday, discussed developments in Afghanistan and issues pertaining to bilateral defence cooperation.
Post "warm" talks with his American counterpart, Singh took to his official Twitter handle saying that both sides agreed to continue with the "useful dialogue" and strengthening the India-US partnership further.
"Had a warm telephone conversation with @SecDef Mr Lloyd Austin. We discussed issues pertaining to bilateral defence cooperation & regional matters including situation in Afghanistan. We agreed to continue the useful dialogue & look forward to strengthening the partnership further" the defence minister tweeted.
It is to be noted that the telephonic conversation between the two senior officials came days ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the US. PM Modi is scheduled to attend an in-person summit of Quad leaders in Washington this week, where he would address the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York.
India and the United States have been in constant touch with each other on the Afghan crisis after since the Taliban took over of capital Kabul and several other major provinces of the country on August 15.
Earlier this month, PM Modi discussed the ongoing Afghanistan turmoil, its internal and external implications, and issues pertaining to regional security during a virtual address at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit. He stressed on global effort in order to bring peace in the region and warned that continuing instability and fundamentalism in Afghanistan will embolden terrorist and extremist ideologies all over the world.