On July 1, 2025, US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and India’s Defense Minister Rajnath Singh had a thorough phone discussion centered on strengthening and broadening the India-US defense alliance.
Both leaders went over a wide range of topics, such as expanded defense industry partnership, improved training and military exchanges, and long-term defense sector cooperation.
They decided to focus on a few crucial areas in order to continue building on the momentum of this “critical and mutually beneficial” partnership:
Increasing the Indian and American military services’ capacity to work together harmoniously is known as interoperability.
Integration of defense industrial supply chains: To guarantee strong, safe, and resilient supply chains between the two nations, industrial ties should be strengthened.
Logistics sharing: Increasing logistical collaboration to facilitate cooperative exercises and operations.
Increased joint military exercises: To improve operational coordination, more frequent and intricate joint exercises should be conducted.
Cooperation with like-minded partners: Working together with countries that have comparable strategic objectives.
Rajnath Singh conveyed his sincere gratitude for the United States’ steadfast assistance in India’s war against terrorism, emphasizing the US’s support amid the most recent regional security crises. Additionally, he praised Secretary Hegseth’s dynamic leadership, pointing out that it had elevated defense cooperation to unprecedented levels.
To strengthen the two countries’ defense cooperation, Secretary Hegseth extended an invitation to Rajnath Singh to visit the US. This discussion demonstrated the high-level commitment to fostering closer ties between the two leaders and was the third of its kind since Hegseth was confirmed as Secretary of Defense in January 2025.
In a public statement, Rajnath Singh also reaffirmed the significance of examining both new and continuing projects to improve capacity-building collaboration and deepen the defense alliance. He underlined that he was looking forward to meeting with Secretary Hegseth shortly to further advance common strategic goals.
