India and the United States have agreed on a plan to increase their defence cooperation over the next ten years.
This agreement was announced following a meeting between US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth and Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh in Kuala Lumpur on Friday, October 31.
At the same time, India and the US are trying to finalize a trade deal and ease tensions after the US imposed high tariffs on India.
"It is a signal of our growing strategic convergence and will herald a new decade of partnership. Defence will remain as a major pillar of our bilateral relations. Our partnership is critical for ensuring a free, open and rules-based Indo-Pacific region," Singh said, in a post on X.
The agreement, which is expected to guide and shape all aspects of the defence relation between the two countries was originally planned to be finalized in July-August but was delayed as India was upset by Trump's comments claiming credit for resolving the conflict with Pakistan.
India and the US have been gradually strengthening their defence partnership and India has recenlty indicated that it is willing to buy more energy and defence equipments from the US.
Besides this, India and the US are having major trade discussions, hoping to complete a long-awaited trade agreement by November.
