Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks hosted Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri at the Pentagon today to discuss priorities for strengthening the U.S.-India defense partnership through defense industrial cooperation, technology innovation, and operational cooperation.
She noted that the United States and India continue to break new ground in areas of cooperation that will enhance the security of both countries, as well as the broader Indo-Pacific region.
Deputy Secretary Hicks thanked Foreign Secretary Misri for India's strong support of the maritime security and logistics initiatives announced at the Quad Leaders Summit last weekend.
They also discussed ongoing efforts to co-produce jet engines, land mobility systems, and munitions, as well as the continued progress through the India-U.S. Defense Acceleration Ecosystem (INDUS-X) to foster joint innovation among defense industry stakeholders in both countries.
Deputy Secretary Hicks highlighted the success of the recent INDUS-X Summit, which resulted in the announcement of a new joint innovation challenge for space domain technologies, as well as an upgraded memorandum of understanding between the U.S. Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) and the Indian Defense Ministry's Innovations for Defense Excellence (iDEX) office.
The two officials also discussed regional security issues and a range of operational cooperation initiatives aimed at promoting stability and security in the Indo-Pacific.
Deputy Secretary Hicks expressed the importance of continuing to advance progress across all areas of the Major Defense Partnership, and pledged to deepen cooperation to promote a shared vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific.
