US Congress Delegation Meets Indian Defence Secy to Boost 10-Year Partnership

The meeting, held on January 27 featured wide-ranging discussions on deepening defence industry collaboration and advancing bilateral military ties, according to the Ministry of Defence..

"US Congressional Delegation led by Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee (HASC) Mike Rogers met Defence Secretary Shri Rajesh Kumar Singh today. They had wide ranging discussions including the recently concluded 10-year Major Defence Partnership Framework Agreement with emphasis on strengthening cooperation in the field of defence industry," the Ministry of Defence said in a post on X.

Highlighting the strength of India-US defence relations, US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor, in a post on X, said that the long-term framework agreement would significantly deepen bilateral defence cooperation.

"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, additional sales are in progress. This is a strong relationship! Thank you for hosting us Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh," Gor wrote in his post on Wednesday.

In October 2025, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, on the sidelines of the 12th ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting Plus (ADMM-Plus) in Kuala Lumpur, signed the 'framework for the US-India major defence partnership', which will usher in a new era in an already strong defence partnership.

The 2025 framework marked a new chapter to further transform the partnership over the next 10 years and was intended to provide a unified vision and policy direction to deepen defence cooperation.

In a post on X, Rajnath Singh expressed confidence that the framework will provide policy direction across the entire spectrum of the India-US defence relationship.

"It is a signal of our growing strategic convergence and will herald a new decade of partnership. Defence will remain as the major pillar of our bilateral relations. Our partnership is critical for ensuring a free, open and rules-bound Indo-Pacific region," he wrote.

In a post, Hegseth stated that the framework advances the bilateral defence partnership, a cornerstone for regional stability and deterrence.

"We're enhancing our coordination, info sharing, and tech cooperation. Our defence ties have never been stronger," he wrote.

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

- ANI