Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III Hosted Bilateral in Honor of Indian Minister of Defense Rajnath SinghReadout of Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III's Meeting With[...]

SECRETARY OF DEFENSE LLOYD AUSTIN: Well, Minister Singh, good morning and welcome back to the Pentagon. It's great to see you again. We're meeting at a time of great momentum in the US India partnership. We share a vision of a free and open Indo Pacific, and our defense cooperation continues to grow stronger and stronger. We're expanding our defense industrial ties and working to co-produce more capabilities and strengthening supply chain resilience through the INDUS-X initiative, we're accelerating defense innovation among both countries' private sectors. I look forward to a robust report on the program's progress after its third summit next month in Silicon Valley.

We've also increased our operational cooperation across all domains, and our exercises have grown more complex and more sophisticated. And just last month, India was one of 29 countries that participated in a successful RIMPAC exercise in Hawaii, and the Indian Navy remains an important security provider in the Indian Ocean. Indian sailors have helped mariners in distress and defended global commerce, so we are committed to deepening naval cooperation, to doing more together with unmanned technology and to strengthening undersea domain awareness.

And finally, Mr. Minister, I want to thank you for your leadership as we repatriate the remains of some of our fallen service members from World War II and finally bring them home. So Minister Singh, thanks again for making the trip, and thanks for all that you're doing to strengthen our partnership.

MINISTER SINGH: Thank you very much. Secretary Austin, it is great pleasure to meet you again. I recall (inaudible) your visit to India in June and November last year. India and the US enjoy a comprehensive global strategic partnership, covering almost all areas of human endeavor. This is driven by shared democratic value, convergence of interest on a range of issues and vibrant people-to-people contact. I can see our bilateral relationship has also seen a growing convergence of strategic interest and enhanced defense security and industrial cooperation.

Secretary Austin, our leaders share an excellent rapport and are working together on several global issues, apart from the vast and growing bilateral agenda. We have had regular high-level interactions, and this includes our prime minister's state visit to US in June 2023, where he also addressed a joint meeting of US Congress. President Biden visited New Delhi in September 2023 to attend the G-20 Leaders Summit. PM Modi also met President Biden on the sidelines of G-7 Summit in June in Italy.

Secretary Austin, you now have the floor. Thank you very much.

MR. AUSTIN: Well, thank you. We're delighted to have you here, and I look forward to a great discussion. Thanks, everybody.