US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin to Visit India Next Week, Meet Rajnath Singh

United States Defence Secretary Lloyd J Austin will travel to New Delhi from next week, US Department of Defence said in a statement announcing his trip to Japan, Singapore, India and France.

The US Defence Secretary will meet Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and other leaders in India as the United States and New Delhi continue to modernise the US-India Major Defense Partnership, the statement said.

The first stop in his four-nation trip is Tokyo where he will meet with Japanese Defense Minister Yasukasu Hamada and other senior leaders and visit US troops stationed in Japan.

“Secretary Austin will visit New Delhi to meet with Defense Minister Rajnath Singh and other leaders as the United States and India continue to modernize the U.S.-India Major Defense Partnership,” the statement said.

“This visit provides an opportunity to accelerate new defense innovation and industrial cooperation initiatives and drive ongoing efforts to expand operational cooperation between the US and Indian militaries,” it added.

Austin will begin his trip from Japan, as part of his seventh official visit to the Indo-Pacific region. In Tokyo, he plans to meet with Japanese Defense Minister Yasukasu Hamada and other senior leaders and also visit the US troops stationed in Japan, it said.

According to the statement, Secretary Austin’s visit comes as the United States and Japan take important strides to modernize Alliance capabilities, optimize US force posture, and build links with like-minded partners following the historic US-Japan “2+2” Ministerial meeting earlier this year.

After Singapore, Austin will visit New Delhi and then conclude his trip in France to participate in events commemorating the 79th anniversary of D-Day, and meet with French and the United Kingdom defense leaders, the statement added.