India, U.S. sign ten-year defence framework

U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh after signing the ten-year bilateral defence framework agreement | Photo: Indian Ministry of Defence

India and the United States have signed a ten-year framework to guide their major defence partnership during a meeting between Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth on the sidelines of the 12th ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting Plus (ADMM-Plus) in Kuala Lumpur on October 31, 2025.

According to India’s Ministry of Defence, the new framework is intended to provide policy direction for the full range of defence cooperation between the two countries, including military exercises, technology collaboration and industrial partnerships. The agreement follows a series of bilateral discussions aimed at strengthening defence coordination amid regional and global security challenges.

Following the meeting, Singh wrote on X that the framework “will provide policy direction to the entire spectrum of the India-U.S. defence relationship” and “herald a new decade of partnership.” He said defence cooperation would remain “a major pillar of our bilateral relations” and emphasised the shared goal of maintaining a “free, open and rules-based Indo-Pacific region.”

Secretary Hegseth stated that India remains “a priority country for the U.S. in defence cooperation” and that Washington was committed to working with New Delhi to ensure a stable and open Indo-Pacific. He added that both sides were “enhancing coordination, information sharing, and technology cooperation.”

The two governments reaffirmed their commitment to ongoing initiatives in joint defence production, research and development, and regular high-level exchanges under established dialogue and coordination mechanisms.