GOA, India, Rajab 3, 1437, Apr 10, 2016, SPA -- U.S. Defence Secretary Ash Carter began a three-day visit to India on Sunday, seeking to advance a relatively new defense relationship with it, Reuters reported. In a sign of the importance Carter places on improving defence ties with India, the visit is his second in less than a year, and it kicks off in Goa, the west coast home state of Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar. For India, closer U.S. defence ties would bring greater access to American technology. It is also a favored initiative of Carter, who established a special cell within the Pentagon last year to promote cooperation with India. "There's no question about where the United States-India relationship is going," Carter said on Friday, at a talk at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York. "We can control and influence the pace, and I want to do that." --SPA 13:50 LOCAL TIME 10:50 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/w