Rajnath Singh said India is looking forward to closely work with the US across various domains for capacity building and further consolidating the strategic partnership

The US Defence Secretary arrived in New Delhi on Sunday on a two-day tour that comes over two weeks ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's state visit to Washington

'India-US partnership is critical for ensuring a free, open and rules-bound Indo-Pacific region. We look forward to closely work with the US across the domains for capacity building and further consolidating our strategic partnership,' Rajnath Singh said

In June 2016, the US designated India a "Major Defence Partner" paving way for sharing of critical military equipment and technology

It is Secretary Austin's second visit to India. His previous trip to India was in March, 2021