US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is on a two-day visit to India to discuss ways to expand bilateral strategic engagement ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Washington. Austin arrived in India from Singapore on Sunday to further strengthen the defense partnership between the two nations. Upon his arrival, US Ambassador to India, Eric Garcetti, received the Pentagon Chief who kick started the third leg of his four-nation tour. Taking to Twitter, the US Defense Secretary wrote, “I’m returning to India to meet with key leaders for discussions about strengthening our Major Defense Partnership.” “Together, we’re advancing a shared vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific,” he added. Austin met Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh in Delhi on Monday and both leaders are holding a bilateral meeting for discussions about strengthening defense partnership between the two countries. Prior to the meeting, Austin inspected the Tri-Service Guard of Honor in the presence of Singh in the national capital. Austin and Singh were expected to discuss a number of new defense cooperation projects that will be unveiled after Modi’s meeting with President Joe Biden in Washington two weeks later. General Electric’s proposal to share fighter jet engine technology with India, as well as India’s plan to purchase 30 MQ-9B armed drones from US defense major General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc (GA-ASI) for more than $3 billion, are likely to be discussed during the talks. Under the framework of technology transfer, India has been seeking to manufacture jet engines in India to power its fighter aircraft. China’s aggressive behavior in the Indo-Pacific and along the Line of Actual Control, as well as ways to combat the threat of terrorism, are likely to be discussed by Singh and Austin. Austin’s New Delhi visit will prominently focus on advancing India-US new defense innovation and industrial cooperation initiatives and continuing with the efforts to expand operational cooperation between the US and Indian militaries, according to the ANI news agency. The Pentagon, while elaborating on the details of the Defense Secretary’s visit, said, “After Singapore, Secretary Austin will visit New Delhi to meet with Defense Minister Rajnath Singh and other leaders as the United States and India continue to modernize the US-India Major Defense Partnership.” “This visit provides an opportunity to accelerate new defense innovation and industrial cooperation initiatives and drive ongoing efforts to expand operational cooperation between the US and Indian militaries,” the statement added. Austin attended the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore and his first stop was in Tokyo where he met with Japanese Defense Minister Yasukasu Hamada and other senior leaders and visited US troops stationed in Japan. Later, from Japan, he flew to Singapore, where he addressed plenary remarks at the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) 20th Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore. During his stay in Singapore, he also held key bilateral meetings to advance US partnerships across the region. After New Delhi, the US Defense Secretary will embark on a visit to France. Also just before PM Modi’s visit to the US, a powerful Congressional Committee has recommended strengthening NATO Plus by including India. This step is a move to deter China. The suggestion of including India in the five-member grouping has been made by the committee to win the “strategic competition with the Chinese Communist Party”. Presently, NATO Plus 5 is a security arrangement that works towards boosting global defense cooperation and comprises NATO and five aligned countries, Australia, Japan, Israel, New Zealand and South Korea. India getting included in NATO Plus would mean the facilitation of seamless intelligence sharing between these nations and India and access to the latest military technology with a minimal time lag, reported NewsonAir. Secretary Austin will conclude his four-nation trip in France and will take part in events commemorating the 79th anniversary of D-Day and meet with French and United Kingdom defense leaders. — Agencies