New Delhi, June 4
US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin arrived in India on Sunday on a two-day visit to explore ways to further strengthen bilateral defence cooperation, especially in areas of transfer of critical technologies for co-development of military hardware.
Secretary Austin’s trip comes over two weeks ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s state visit to Washington during which the two sides are expected to unveil initiatives to expand the India-US global strategic partnership.
“I’m returning to India to meet with key leaders for discussions about strengthening our Major Defense Partnership. Together, we’re advancing a shared vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific,” the US defence secretary tweeted shortly after landing in New Delhi.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Austin are set to discuss in their talks on Monday the General Electric’s proposal to share technology with India for fighter jet engines and New Delhi’s plan to procure 30 MQ-9B armed drones at a cost of over USD 3 billion from US defence major General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc, besides other issues, people familiar with the matter said.
