Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh met his US counterpart Pete Hegseth in Malaysia on Friday and announced the signing of a 10-year defence framework between the two countries.
The agreement will be a foundation for regional stability and deterrence, enhancing coordination, information sharing and technological cooperation between the two nations, Hegseth posted on X after the meeting with his Indian counterpart, Rajnath Singh.
Earlier, Singh had planned to meet Hegseth in Washington, but the trip was cancelled amid strained India-US ties after President Donald Trump doubled tariffs on Indian imports to 50%.
The meeting likely included a review of India’s plans to purchase military hardware from the US such as six Boeing P8I aircraft for the Indian Navy, as well as a fresh India-US defence cooperation framework.
Last week, commerce minister Piyush Goyal said that talks are being held regarding the proposed India-US Bilateral Trade Agreement and that an agreement will be reached after concerns of the nation’s farmers, fishermen and MSME sector are addressed.
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