Sitharaman at Pentagon: India, US agree to boost defence, security ties

TIL Desk/National/Washington/ India and the US have agreed to accelerate defence and security ties as Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman met her American counterpart James Mattis, who described India as a “stabilising force” across the Indo-Pacific and the globe. US Defence Secretary Mattis welcomed Sitharaman to the Pentagon on Monday for the fourth set of talks the two defense leaders have held this year.

Sitharaman, the first woman defence minister of India, is currently on a five-day maiden trip to the US. From here, she will travel to California to visit the Defense Innovation Unit of the Department of Defense and the Indo-Pacific Command headquarters in Hawaii. “The United States and India, in Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi’s words, have overcome hesitations of history, carrying forward the legacy of friendship and making clear there is no contradiction between strategic autonomy and strategic partnership,” Mattis said.

Sitharaman started her official visit here by visiting the Foggy Bottom headquarters of the State Department, where she signed on the condolence book of former US President George H W Bush who died late Friday at his home in Houston. From there, she drove to the Arlington National Cemetery where she laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, a gesture which did not go unnoticed at the Pentagon.