US committed to strengthening partnership with India: Charge d'Affaires

Don Heflin Charg dAffaires of the United States in India said on Tuesday that the United States is committed to strengthening its partnership with India and deepening militarytomilitary relationships and cooperationAddressing a press conference in Bengaluru on the eve of Aero India 2021 Heflin told reporters that the United States is a reliable partner to Indias defence sector offering the worlds best defence equipmentIndia plays a key role in the IndoPacific region and our cooperation advances our shared vision of a rulesbased international order that promotes the prosperity and security of all countries he saidHeflin explained that the growing number of joint ventures and partnerships between US and Indian defence companies continues to strengthen the robust network of defence suppliers in India with the potential of equipping partners in the broader IndoPacific region These companies also create jobs while producing exports for markets around the world he observedHeflin said that the United States is a reliable partner to Indias defence sector offering the worlds best defence equipmentIndia plays a key role at the IndoPacific region and our cooperation advances our shared vision of a rules based international order that promotes prosperity and security of all the countries he saidResponding to a question on Aatmanirbhar Bharat selfreliant India and possible impact on sharing of critical technologies to Indian firms Heflin said Indias defence procurement is an issue for the Indian government to decideHe asserted that the US recognises Indias desire to produce more of its military equipmentWe understand that and look forward to a growing partnership in this effort as this process unfolds India will widely need to widely develop certain key capabilities with careful use of outside procurements to realise this ambition of a vibrant indigenous defence industrial sector he elaboratedHeflin further added that IndiaUS defence partnership goes beyond defence manufacturing and trade We have signed foundational defence agreements and our military is engaged in joint exercises such as Tiger Triumph and Malabar he saidA highlevel delegation of 100 US government officials and defence industry representatives is taking part in Aero India 2021 the countrys premier defence and aerospace exhibition starting here from WednesdayAmong the highlights of the show a B1B Lancer heavy bomber of the 28th Bomb Wing based out of Ellsworth Air Force Base in South Dakota will perform a flyby during the inaugural ceremony on February 3This marks the first time an American bomber has touched down in IndiaThe B1B Lancer a supersonic heavy bomber is a truly remarkable aircraft capable of carrying out missions worldwide from bases in the United States as well as from forwarddeployed locations It carries the largest conventional payload of both guided and unguided weapons in the US Air Force and is considered the backbone of Americas longrange bomber forceThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever