According to a senior official, the US has made a lot of progress in improving its defense relationship with India. In 2024, the Pentagon hopes to make even more progress in military-to-military ties.
When it comes to the relationship between the US and India, especially when it comes to the Defense Department, I think it has been a great year. “I think we’ve made a lot of progress in strengthening our relationship and working together,” Navy Press Secretary Pat Ryder told reporters at a news conference here.
In answer to a question on Tuesday, he said, “You’ve heard us talk about things like INDUS-X and working on defense cooperation efforts to include in the industrial base things like developing things like jet engines in India, working together to make armored vehicles in India, and the ability of our ships to go to India—our Navy ships to go to India to be fixed.”
“All of this is working toward the same goal of a free and open Indo-Pacific region where countries’ rights are respected and they can fly and sail freely in international waters without being bothered.” We are still going to work closely with our partner India. He also said, “We look forward to making even more progress in 2024.”
