US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth thanked External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Wednesday for having a productive meeting about strengthening the India-US defence partnership. He said that the two countries are working more closely because their interests and responsibilities are becoming more aligned. The meeting took place on Tuesday during the QUAD summit.
“Great meeting yesterday with Indian Minister of External Affairs S Jaishankar,” Hegseth posted on X. “Thank you, Mr. Minister, for all you do to strengthen U.S.-India relations, especially our defense partnership. I salute our two great democracies’ cooperation in securing a free and open Asia-Pacific,” he added further.
The US on Wednesday said that it hopes to finish several important defence deals with India soon. It also said that both countries understand the security challenges in the Indo-Pacific region. A report from the US Department of Defense said that Hegseth believes the US and India are aware of the threats in the region and can face them together.
The report also said that Hegseth spoke about the US helping India with the right equipment to deal with these threats in the Indo-Pacific.
Hegseth on defence deals with India
According to the US Department of Defense, Pete Hegseth said the US is happy that many American defence systems have been successfully added to India’s military.
He said that, based on this progress, the US hopes to soon finish several big defence deals with India. He also mentioned plans to boost joint work on defence manufacturing, improve how the two countries’ militaries work together, and officially sign a new 10-year agreement to strengthen their defence partnership.
In his opening comments, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had said that the defence partnership between India and the US is now one of the most important parts of their relationship.
Jaishankar added that this partnership is not just based on common interests, but also on a growing alignment in both countries’ abilities and responsibilities—especially in the Indo-Pacific region, which is key to maintaining peace and stability.