Fri. Mar 29th, 2024

Washington DC, May 30: R Clarke Cooper, United States assistant secretary of state for political and military affairs, is slated to pay an official visit to India early in June to hold discussions aimed at bolstering cooperation and peacekeeping between the two powerful nations.

According to ANI news reports, in an official statement, the US department of state said, “In India, Assistant Secretary Cooper will hold talks on defence cooperation and peacekeeping, two key areas of the rapidly growing US-India partnership as envisioned in the administration’s Indo-Pacific Strategy.”

US-India defence cooperation has risen from virtually zero in 2008 to about USD 15 million till date, the department’s statement said.

“The talks will focus on supporting India’s role as a major defence partner, expanding our security cooperation, and furthering opportunities for American industry,” the
the statement read.

Coopera was also scheduled to pay an official visit to Singapore and Sri Lanka on the course of his official tour to South Asian nations from, dates from May 29 to June 7.

The state department official, in Sri Lanka, is expected to hold a meeting with the Sri Lankan government officials, as well as, think tank experts in order to “discuss security, peacekeeping, clearance of landmines and unexploded ordnance, counterterrorism and other areas of mutual interests.”

US acting secretary of defence Patrick Shanahan will lead the team of the US delegation for Shangri La-dialogue in Singapore, who will be accompanied by Under Secretary of state for arms control and international security Andrea L. Thompson and Cooper.

Shangri La-dialogue is a forum for the exchange of defence and security policies across the Indo-Pacific region.

The official is further likely to hold dialogues with defence leaders from different nations across the globe in order to discuss American partnership in maritime security, regional security, and defence trade that use to contribute to an open, inclusive and free Indo-Pacific region, according to the state department.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *