Biden Admin Plans to Continue Elevating Defense Partnership with India, Says Rtd Gen Austin© thequint.com

Biden Admin Plans to Continue Elevating Defense Partnership with India, Says Rtd Gen Austin

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US President-elect Joe Biden's nominee for secretary of defence, retired army general Lloyd J Austin, on Tuesday, 19 January, said his overarching objective for the defence relationship with India would be to continue elevating the partnership.

"I would further operationalise India's major 'Major Defence Partner' status and continue to build upon existing strong defence cooperation to ensure the US and Indian militaries can collaborate to address shared interests. I would also seek to deepen and broaden our defence cooperation through the Quad security dialogue and other regional multilateral engagements," Austin was quoted as saying at the Senate Armed Services Committee confirmation hearing.