FORMER US DEFENCE OFFICIAL REMARKS US-INDIA RELATIONSHIP ON 'GREAT TRACK'

The US-India defence relationship is on a "great track" and this "2+2" foreign and defence ministerial dialogue is a great example of the importance that both sides have placed on further advancing it, a former senior defence official from the United States said on Wednesday.

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India and the US will carry out a comprehensive review of their fast-expanding strategic ties at the next edition of the "2+2" foreign and defence ministerial dialogue here on Friday.

Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX) under the Department of Defence Production, Ministry of Defence, and the US Department of Defence, organised the maiden INDUS-X Investors Meet here on Wednesday as a precursor to the "2+2" Indo-US Ministerial Dialogue.

Joseph H Felter, a former US deputy assistant secretary of defence for South Asia, and Southeast Asia, while interacting with PTI on the sidelines of the meet here, said, "There is no more important relationship anywhere than the US-India relationship. And the defence relationship has really been a real driver of the broader US-India relationship for some time now."

"Since 2016, when India was designated a major defence partner, we went from zero defence trade in 2008 to over USD 20 billion today... So, the USIndia defence relationship is really on a great track and this '2+2' is a great example of the significance and importance that both our sides have placed on further advancing that," he said.