Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to hold meeting with US, German counterparts next week

New Delhi [India], June 3 (ANI): Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will hold a meeting with his US counterpart Lloyd Austin and German Federal Minister of Defence Boris Pistorius next week, according to the Ministry of Defence press release.

Rajnath Singh will hold a meeting with US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin on June 5. He will arrive on an official visit to India starting June 4.
On June 6, Rajnath Singh will hold talks with German Federal Minister of Defence Boris Pistorius, who is visiting India for a four-day visit.

The issues of bilateral defence cooperation, with a focus on industrial cooperation, are likely to be discussed during the two meetings, added the release.

Boris Pistorius will be on a four-day visit to India starting from June 5. He will arrive from Indonesia. Apart from his meeting with Rajnath Singh, Pistorius is likely to meet a few defence start-ups during an event organised by Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX) in New Delhi.

On June 7, German Federal Minister of Defence Boris Pistorius will visit Mumbai where he is likely to visit Headquarters, Western Naval Command and Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited, according to a Ministry of Defence press release.

Lloyd Austin will arrive in India from Singapore on June 4 for a two-day visit. It will be the US Secretary of Defence’s second visit to India. Previously, Austin visited India in March 2021, according to the Ministry of Defence press release.

US Defence Secretary will travel to New Delhi on an official visit to India as part of his four-nation tour. The visit holds particular significance considering Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s upcoming state visit to the US in June.

Lloyd Austin first travelled to Japan where he held a meeting with Japanese counterpart Yasukazu Hamada in Tokyo. Later, from Japan, he travelled to Singapore, where he made remarks at the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) 20th Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore.

During his stay in Singapore, he will also hold key bilateral meetings to advance US partnerships across the region. Following his visit to Singapore, Austin will travel to New Delhi, on the third leg of his tour.

US Department of Defence in an official release said, “After Singapore, Secretary Austin will visit New Delhi to meet with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and other leaders as the United States and India continue to modernize the US-India Major Defence Partnership.”

“This visit provides an opportunity to accelerate new defence innovation and industrial cooperation initiatives and drive ongoing efforts to expand operational cooperation between the US and Indian militaries,” the release further said.

While speaking ahead of his four-nation tour, Lloyd Austin said, “I look forward to travelling to Japan, Singapore, India and France next week. We’ve made ground-breaking progress over the past year alongside our allies and partners towards advancing our shared vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific.”