India and US are natural allies and destined to be strong partners, asserts, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said that India and the US are natural allies and are destined to be strong partners. The Minister addressed the Indian diaspora in Washington on the first day of his official visit to the US. Mr. Singh had a lively interaction with the Indian community in Washington DC. He said, it is heartwarming to see how the Indian community continues to cherish and uphold their cultural values and maintain their connection to their roots.

During the Defence Minister’s visit to Washington, India and the US signed the Security of Supplies Arrangement document (SOSA), and Memorandum of Agreement regarding the Assignment of Liaison Officers. With the signing of SOSA, India and the US agreed to provide priority support for goods and services that promote national defence. The Arrangement will enable both countries to acquire the industrial resources they need from one another to resolve unanticipated supply chain disruptions to meet national security needs. SOSA is an important mechanism to strengthen interoperability with US defence trade partners. India is the eighteenth SOSA partner of the US. Other SOSA partners include Australia, Canada, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh arrived in Washington yesterday evening on a four-day visit to the United States at the invitation of the US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin. During the visit, Mr Singh will hold a bilateral meeting with his US counterpart and also meet the US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan. The Defence Minister will also chair a high-level round table meeting with the US defence industry on the ongoing and future defence collaborations.