Rajnath Singh, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to meet next week, says Pentagon reports

The Pentagon (headquarters building of the United States Department of Defence) officials on Wednesday asserted that US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin would travel to India, Japan, and South Korea next week, marking the first overseas visit by a senior member of the current Biden administration. 

US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin to visit India

In its official statement, the Pentagon said, "Austin will meet with his counterparts and other senior officials to discuss the importance of international defence relationships and reinforce the United States’ commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific region founded on respect for international rules, laws, and norms." According to the release, Austin will fly to Hawaii on March 13 to visit the US Indo-Pacific Command Headquarters, as well as US troops and senior government officials in Japan and the Republic of Korea, and senior government officials in India.

Austin will meet Rajnath Singh at the last leg of his maiden foreign trip. The Pentagon informed, "In India, Secretary Austin will meet with his counterpart, Minister of Defence Rajnath Singh, and other senior national security leaders to discuss deepening the US-India Major Defence Partnership and advancing cooperation between our countries for a free, prosperous and open Indo-Pacific and Western Indian Ocean Region." 

Rajnath Singh, Lloyd Austin to discuss 'Defence Partnership'

Austin will travel to Japan to join US Secretary of State Antony Blinken for the US-Japan Security Consultative Committee (‘2+2'), which will be hosted by Japan's Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi and Defence Minister Nobuo Kishi. Also, Austin and Atony Blinken will travel to South Korea for a US-South Korean Foreign and Defence Ministerial (‘2+2′), hosted by Foreign Minister Chung Eui-Yong and Defence Minister Suh Wook, to reaffirm the US' unwavering commitment to the Republic of Korea's stability. 

In his first-ever interaction with India's Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on January 29, 2021, he had said the United States is going to "remain committed to a strong US-India bilateral relationship." The two leaders discussed several issues, including the two nations’ response to the coronavirus. Also, Lloyd had pledged to work collaboratively with India to sustain the progress in the bilateral defence relationship. 

(with inputs from PTI)