India-US explore capacity-building activities in neighbouring third countries
India and the United States today explored possible capacity-building and other joint cooperation activities in third countries, including in India's neighbourhood and beyond.
This was stated by Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh after his in-person talks with US Defence Secretary Mark T Esper in New Delhi.
"We have convergence of views on a number of such proposals and will take those forward," Rajnath told media after the talks, reports our New Delhi correspondent.
India recently handed over one of its old submarines to Myanmar after retrofitting it.
During Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's official visit to India in 2017, India had announced a 450 million dollar soft loan for Bangladesh to source defence hardware but the project is yet to take off.
Rajnath said the two countries have identified priority near-term projects for joint development between respective agencies, which need to be fast tacked.
"In our meeting, we shared assessment of the security situation across the Indo Pacific. In that process, we reaffirmed our commitment to peace, stability and prosperity of all countries in this region," he said.
In an apparent reference to China, he said, "We also agreed that upholding the rules-based international order, respecting the rule of law and freedom of navigation in the international seas and upholding the territorial integrity and sovereignty of all states are essential. Our defence cooperation is intended to further these objectives."
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