Emphasizing that defence cooperation is a central support in India-US relations, India on Thursday said that a US defence policy team will arrive in New Delhi shortly as the two countries continue to strengthen their overall global strategic partnership.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) pointed out that the defence cooperation between the two nations has consolidated on all fronts and that defence procurement has gone ahead as per set procedures.
Speaking at a routine media briefing, MEA spokesman Randhir Jaiswal further said that the 21st iteration of the combined military exercise, Yudh Abhyas, is going to be conducted later this month.
"India-US defence ties, based on foundational defence pacts, is a key pillar in the bilateral relationship. The robust cooperation has deepened in all fields. We are looking at a US defence policy team visiting Delhi in mid-August.". The 21st edition of the bilateral military exercise Yudh Abhyas is also scheduled to be conducted later this month in Alaska. Both sides are committed to holding the 2+2 Intersessional meeting at the working level towards the end of this month," Jaiswal added.
Highlighting the strength of India-US relations across different transitions and challenges, he stressed that the relationship is based on shared interests, democratic values, and robust people-to-people ties. Jaiswal felt certain that the bilateral relationship would continue to evolve on the foundation of mutual respect and shared objectives.
"India and the United States have a broad global strategic partnership that is grounded in common interests, democratic values and strong people-to-people connections. The partnership has survived several transitions and challenges, as we had indicated previously. We are still engaged with the substantive agenda that the two nations have pledged to, and we hope that the relationship will continue to advance on the basis of mutual respect and shared interests," he added.
The statement follows US President Donald Trump's previous announcement this month of an extra 25 per cent tariff increase, with reference to India's continued imports of Russian crude oil. This comes after a previous 25 per cent tariff that was introduced on July 20.
India's MEA reacted strongly to the decision, labeling it as "unfair, unjustified, and unreasonable" and reiterating that the country's energy needs and strategic autonomy should be respected.
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