The new administration of the US has formally launched contact with India’s top leadership on Wednesday. Under this, Defense Minister Lloyd Austin and National Security Adviser Jack Sullivan discussed defense cooperation and stability in the Indo-Pacific with their counterparts Rajnath Singh and Ajit Doval. In the first telephone conversation, both sides pledged to work together to strengthen bilateral defense cooperation and strategic collaboration. According to the defense ministry, they discussed bilateral, regional and global issues.
At the same time, the Foreign Ministry said that after talks between Dowell and Sullivan, India and the United States discussed the need to address challenges together in the post-Kovid-19 era. In addition, the two agreed to work closely on key issues such as terrorism and stability in the Indo-Pacific region. However, the US government has not issued any official statement regarding this conversation.
Let’s say this is the first high-level telephone conversation between the two countries since Joe Biden was sworn in as the 46th President of the United States last week. It is believed that Biden will be talking to Prime Minister Narendra Modi soon as he talks with other world leaders. Prior to that, Rajanath Singh congratulated Austin as the first African-American Secretary of Defense. Simultaneously, PM Narendra Modi spoke with Joe Biden after winning the elections in November and discussed common priorities and concerns, including epidemics, climate change and cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region.
Talk to my US counterpart, Ec Secdef He conveyed my best wishes to Austin and his appointment.
We have reaffirmed our commitment to strengthen India-US defense cooperation. We have exchanged views on regional and global issues of mutual interest to strengthen our strategic partnership.– Rajanath Singh (j Rajanath Singh) January 27, 2021
In a conversation with Sullivan, Dowell said that two major democracies – India and the United States – with confidence in an open and inclusive world order, are ready to work closely on regional and international issues. These topics include terrorism, maritime security, cyber security and stability in the Indo-Pacific region. At the same time, Sullivan said the US is keen to work together on a bilateral agenda and common global challenges.
At the same time, Rajnath Singh reiterated his commitment to strengthen Indo-US defense cooperation during the talks. We have exchanged views on regional and global issues of mutual interest to strengthen our strategic partnership.
