Defence Minister Rajnath Singh held bilateral talks with his US counterpart Lloyd Austin on Monday. They also discussed bilateral defence cooperation and the regional security situation

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, along with Defence Secretary Dr Ajay Kumar and a high-level delegation, on Monday held a meeting with Secretary of Defence of the United States Lloyd Austin, accompanied by Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and other senior officials in Pentagon.

"Had a wonderful meeting with the US @SecDef, Mr Lloyd Austin at the Pentagon today. We reviewed the entire gamut of bilateral defence cooperation and the regional security situation," Rajnath Singh tweeted.

The two defence ministers reviewed the entire gamut of bilateral defence cooperation and the regional security situation, read a statement from the Ministry of Defence.

Both ministers acknowledged the salience of India-US defence partnership for peace, stability and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific and broader Indian Ocean Region.

They discussed ways to deepen Major Defence Partnership (MDP) and to work together to advance quality and scope in bilateral defence cooperation, according to the statement.

They reviewed military-to-military engagements, information sharing, enhanced logistics cooperation, and ability of the Armed Forces to cooperate closely under compatible communication arrangements. In this context, closer cooperation of Special Operation Forces came up prominently.

The two ministers also discussed ways for closer collaboration between Defence Industries.

Rajnath Singh also underlined the need for co-development and co-production between India and US companies and invited US companies to India for manufacturing and maintenance of defence equipment.