Defence Minister Rajnath Singh holds phone talks with U.S. counterpart Hegseth

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. File

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and his American counterpart Pete Hegseth on Thursday (February 6, 2025) agreed to work on an ambitious agenda, including in the areas of operational, intelligence, logistics and industrial cooperation, to further boost the India-U.S. strategic partnership.

Mr. Singh said Mr. Hegseth reviewed various aspects of the bilateral defence ties in a phone conversation that came less than a week before Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s planned trip to Washington.

In a post on X, the Defence Minister said he and Mr. Hegseth reviewed the ongoing India-U.S. defence cooperation and explored ways to further deepen the relationship.

Mr. Singh described the phone conversation as “excellent”.

“We reviewed the ongoing defence cooperation and explored ways and means to expand and deepen the India-US bilateral defence relationship,” he said.

“We also agreed to chart out an ambitious agenda which includes operational, intelligence, logistics and defence-industrial cooperation. Looking forward to work closely with Secreatry Hegseth,” Mr. Singh added.