U.S. SecDef in India next week
Lloyd Austin will be in India from March 19 - 21

The newly-appointed U.S. Secretary of Defense, Lieutenant General Lloyd J. Austin III (Retired), is to visit India next week.

An Indian Ministry of Defence statement said, ‘he will visit India from 19 to 21 March 2021’, during which he is ‘expected to meet Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh’.

According to the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), Secretary Austin ’embarks on his first overseas trip Saturday, March 13, to visit U.S. Indo-Pacific Command Headquarters in Hawaii, U.S. troops and senior government leaders in Japan and the Republic of Korea, and senior government leaders in India’.

“In India, Secretary Austin will meet with his counterpart, Minister of Defence Rajnath Singh, and other senior national security leaders to discuss deepening the U.S.-India Major Defence Partnership and advancing cooperation between our countries for a free, prosperous and open Indo-Pacific and Western Indian Ocean Region,” said the U.S. DoD statement.

India’s defence ministry said, “Both sides are expected to discuss ways to further strengthen bilateral defence cooperation and exchange views on regional security challenges and common interests in maintaining a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific region. Discussions regarding defence cooperation would also focus on how both countries could consolidate military-to-military cooperation and defence trade and industry cooperation.

Austin and Singh began the dialogue on Twitter.

Looking forward to your visit, Secretary Austin. https://t.co/M7ibWkAJ8V

— Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) March 10, 2021

This visit will come quickly after the first Quad Summit to be held virtually between the heads of government of the four member countries on Friday.

This visit will come at the same time when U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan meet their Chinese counterparts at Anchorage in Alaska.

Earlier this month, a U.S. delegation, led by General Kenneth S Wilsbach, Commander, Pacific Air Forces & Air Component Commander, U.S. Indo-Pacific Command had discussions with India’s Defence Secretary Dr Ajay Kumar in New Delhi.

Last month, the U.S. Army conducted brigade-level exercises with the Indian Army at the Mahajan ranges. A U.S. Air Force B-1B long-range bomber conducted a flypast at Aero India 2021 at Bangalore last month.

General Austin retired from the U.S. Army in 2016 after a 41-year career, during which, he served as Commanding General of United States Forces – Iraq, Vice Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army, and retiring as Commander of U.S. Central Command.