Washington DC [US], February 7: On Thursday, US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth and Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh held an introductory call to reaffirm their shared commitment to enhancing the US-India Major Defence Partnership. The leaders focused on advancing operational cooperation and boosting defence industrial and technological collaboration, with the goal of deterring aggression in the Indo-Pacific region.
According to a statement from the US Department of Defence, the two leaders agreed to pursue an ambitious agenda that includes accelerating operational cooperation and furthering defence industrial and technology partnerships. Hegseth expressed his eagerness to hold the next 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue and to conclude the next ten-year US-India Defence Framework within this year.
Rajnath Singh, in a post on X (formerly Twitter), highlighted that the discussion also revolved around reviewing ongoing defence cooperation and exploring ways to expand and deepen the India-US bilateral defence relationship. Singh emphasized the importance of charting out an ambitious agenda that includes cooperation in operational areas, intelligence sharing, logistics, and defence-industrial collaboration. He expressed his anticipation of working closely with Secretary Hegseth on these initiatives.
The foundation of India-US defence cooperation is the ‘New Framework for India-US Defence Cooperation,’ which was renewed for ten years in 2015. In 2016, the relationship was formally designated as a Major Defence Partnership (MDP), further strengthening defence ties. India was also included in the US Department of Commerce’s Strategic Trade Authorization Tier-1 license exception in 2018.
India-US defence cooperation is multi-faceted, encompassing regular institutionalized bilateral dialogues, military exercises, and defence procurements. The highest level of dialogue is the 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue, co-chaired by the Minister of External Affairs and Minister of Defence from India, and the US Secretary of State and Secretary of Defence. The most recent dialogue took place in November 2023 in New Delhi.
Key defence agreements that shape this partnership include the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (2016), Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (2018), Industrial Security Agreement (2019), Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement (2020), and the Memorandum of Intent for Defence Innovation Cooperation (2018).