United States reaffirms Major Defence Partner status for India

India and the United States on Tuesday exchanged views to work together to effectively address the challenge of terrorism and to advance regional peace, security and stability. The Trump Administration also reaffirmed the Major Defence Partner status granted to India as its visiting National Security Adviser HR McMaster met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and held talks with his counterpart Ajit Doval here.

"The two sides discussed a range of bilateral and regional issues, including their shared interest in increasing defence and counter-terrorism cooperation," the US embassy said in a press statement after the meetings in New Delhi. McMaster, also met Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar. "The visit was a part of regional consultations that included stops in Kabul and Islamabad," the statement said.

Earlier, McMaster and Doval held detailed discussions on Indo-US relations especially the security aspect of the ties, sources said. The US NSA arrived here on Monday evening from Pakistan where he met Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and some top officials. The visit was a part of regional consultations that included stops in Kabul and Islamabad.

During talks, Prime Minister recalled his positive telephonic conversations with President Trump that reaffirmed the importance attached by both sides to the strategic partnership and to stepping up India-US engagement across the board. McMaster shared with the Prime Minister his perspective on the security situation in Afghanistan, West Asia and the North Korea.