India, US discuss opportunities to further strengthen interoperability, logistics cooperation

Washington: Underscoring the transformative momentum in the India-US relationship, officials of the two nations held discussions on opportunities to further strengthen interoperability and logistics cooperation.

During the India-US 2+2 Intersessional Dialogue held here on Tuesday, the officials also discussed combined maritime engagements in the Indian Ocean Region, as well as expanded cooperation in the space and cyber domains, the Pentagon said.

The Indian delegation was led by Additional Secretary Vani Rao of the Ministry of External Affairs and Joint Secretary Vishwesh Negi of the Ministry of Defence, it said.

The American side was led by Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs Dr. Ely Ratner and Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Donald Lu.

"The officials also discussed regional security developments and strategic priorities across the Indo-Pacific region," a statement said.

The 2+2 Intersessional Dialogue advanced a wide range of ambitious initiatives across the breadth of the US-India partnership, including defence and security, emerging technologies, people-to-people ties, clean energy, and supply chain resilience, the Pentagon said.

On the defence side, Ratner and his counterparts reviewed the progress the two countries have made in implementing the Roadmap for US-India Defense Industrial Cooperation. They welcomed the progress on new co-production initiatives and committed to expeditiously conclude negotiations on the Security of Supply Arrangement and Reciprocal Defense Procurement agreements, the statement said.

The officials underscored the transformative momentum in the US-India relations and reaffirmed that a strong partnership between the two countries is essential to upholding security and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific Region, it said.

Ratner reaffirmed the department's commitment to working with India to advance a shared vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific, the Pentagon said.