New US defence secretary Lloyd Austin and the Indian defence Minister Rajnath Singh spoke on Wednesday, in what is the first official and public contact between the Indian govt and the new Biden administration.
The talks that started around 7.30 pm IST on Wednesday, lasted for around 20 minutes. During the call, which was made from the US side, there was a reaffirmation of the Indo Pacific vision, backed by both Washington and Delhi.
The Indian government readout said, “During the telephonic talk, they reaffirmed their commitment to work together to strengthen the multifaceted India – US defence cooperation and the strategic partnership. Raksha Mantri and Secretary Austin discussed bilateral, regional and global issues.” Rajnath Singh also tweeted about the talks, saying that India reiterated its firm commitment to deepen ties with the US. “Spoke with my US counterpart Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin and conveyed my warm wishes on his appointment. We…