Washington DC: Foreign Secretary Kwatra conducted a thorough assessment of the steps taken to strengthen the Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership between India and the US during his visit to Washington, DC from April 10-12.
During his visit to the Foreign Secretary had discussions with his counterparts at the State Department, Deputy Secretary Richard Verma and Deputy Secretary Kurt Campbell, as well as other senior officials, the embassy’s press release said.
“Delighted to welcome my great friend Indian Foreign Secretary Kwatra back to Washington for discussions on US-India cooperation and the Quad. Our partnership in the Indo-Pacific is closer than ever,” said US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell in a post on X.
He also held discussions with key counterpart officials at the National Security Council, Department of Defence, Department of Commerce and Department of Energy. These discussions spanned the entire gamut of India-US ties, growing defence and commercial ties, supply chain resilience and contemporary regional developments, it added.
The Foreign Secretary also had meetings with representatives of leading think tanks and chambers of commerce. The visit is in keeping with the tradition of regular high-level exchanges between the two countries and provided an opportunity to further advance our growing and future-oriented partnership, the release said.
“Deputy Secretary of Defence Kathleen Hicks hosted Indian Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra at the Pentagon on Saturday to discuss priorities for strengthening the US-India defence partnership, including the implementation of the Roadmap for US-India Defence Industrial Cooperation,” according to a readout from Pentagon Spokesman Eric Pahon.
“Today, I met with Indian Foreign Secretary Kwatra to take stock of the historic major defence partnership between our countries. We’re continuing to expand our partnership in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific region,” Hicks posted on X. “The two officials underscored the historic momentum in the Major Defence Partnership in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific. They applauded efforts by both countries to advance the co-production of fighter jet engines and armoured vehicles, as well as the continued success of the India-US Defence Acceleration Ecosystem (INDUS-X) in promoting innovation and partnerships between US and Indian researchers, entrepreneurs, and investors,” the readout also said.
Deputy Secretary Hicks and Foreign Secretary Kwatra also spoke about the importance of expanding the scope of US-India military engagements to strengthen cooperation across all domains while highlighting shared efforts to promote stability and security in the Indo-Pacific. The two officials discussed a range of regional security issues and committed to collaborating closely in support of a shared vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific, it added.
