US-India 10-Year Defence Pact to Deepen Strategic Partnership, Says Envoy

He said this following his meeting with Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh and other top officials.

In a post on X, Gor said, "Just last year, the United States and India signed a 10-year defence pact which will significantly deepen our Defence Partnership. Joint exercises will continue, and additional sales are in progress. This is a strong relationship! Thank you for hosting us, Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh."

Earlier on Sunday (January 25), External Affairs Minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar met a three-member US Congressional delegation, including two Republicans and one Democrat, along with the US Ambassador, and discussed trade and security issues.

EAM Jaishankar called the meeting a "good interaction" and posted on X, "Discussed various aspects of India-US ties, Indo-Pacific and Ukraine conflict. Congressional interactions have always been an important facet of our relationship."

Gor said the talks were "productive" and focused on strengthening bilateral ties in the fields of security, trade, and critical technologies.

In October 2025, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth met on the sidelines of the ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting - Plus in Malaysia.

During this, India and the US inked a 10-year defence partnership, which, according to officials, will usher in a new era in already strong defence ties.

"The 2025 framework marks a new chapter to further transform the partnership over the next 10 years. It is intended to provide a unified vision and policy direction to deepen defence cooperation," the Ministry of Defence said in a statement.

The two leaders appreciated the continuing momentum in the bilateral defence cooperation and reaffirmed their commitment to further build upon the mutually beneficial partnership across all its pillars.

Pete Hegseth reiterated that India is a priority country for the US in defence cooperation and that Washington was committed to working closely with New Delhi to ensure a free and open Indo-Pacific.

"India and the US continue to expand and deepen defence relationship through military-to-military exercises and activities, information sharing, collaboration with like-minded regional and global partners, defence industrial, science and technology cooperation and defence coordination mechanisms," the Ministry added.

- IANS