Readout of Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III Call With Indian Minister of External Affairs Dr. S. JaishankarContracts for Sept. 26, 2022Secretary of Defense Travel to[...]

Pentagon Press Secretary Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder provided the following readout:

Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III welcomed Indian External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar to the Pentagon today, following the Secretary's productive call with Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh earlier this month. Secretary Austin and Minister Jaishankar exchanged perspectives on a range of issues of shared interest, spanning recent developments in East Asia, the Indian Ocean Region, and the global reverberations of the Ukraine crisis.

Against this backdrop, the two leaders reviewed priority lines of effort to deepen bilateral defense cooperation, as the United States and India progress toward a more advanced stage in their partnership. Secretary Austin and Minister Jaishankar committed to expanding information-sharing and logistics cooperation to drive deeper operational coordination between the U.S. and Indian militaries. They also discussed new opportunities for bilateral defense industrial cooperation in support of India's contributions as a regional security provider, including the launch of a new defense dialogue later this year as the United States and India work more closely together across space, cyber, artificial intelligence, and other technology areas.

The two leaders underscored the value of the deepening collaboration between the United States, India, Australia, Japan, and European partners. In this context, the United States looks forward to working with India and like-minded partners to promote security, prosperity, and transparency throughout the region, including through the Indo-Pacific Partnership for Maritime Domain Awareness.

Secretary Austin and Minister Jaishankar reaffirmed their commitment to working together as steadfast partners to advance the United States and India's shared vision for a free, open, and inclusive Indo-Pacific.