The Indo-US defense ties have been on an upswing in the last few years and the US is supportive of an active role for New Delhi in the future political and security architecture of Afghanistan…reports Asian Lite News.
Chief of Staff of the US Army General James C McConville will be on a 3-day visit to India starting from August 4, Prasar Bharati News Services said on Wednesday. The visit of the US Army chief comes at a time when there is a fierce conflict in Afghanistan between the Afghan National Forces and the Taliban. Afghanistan is facing turmoil since the US and NATO
troops began withdrawal in May this year.
In May, McConville, who is the 40th US Chief of Staff, had a telephonic conversation with his Indian counterpart General MM Naravane.
Their talks had focused on bilateral military cooperation. They had also discussed ways to expand cooperation between the two armies in specific areas in view of the evolving regional security scenario.
The Indo-US defense ties have been on an upswing in the last few years and the US is supportive of an active role for New Delhi in the future political and security architecture of Afghanistan. In October last year, India and the US had sealed the BECA (Basic Exchange and Cooperation
Agreement), the last of four foundational agreements for strategic ties.
The pact allows expanded geospatial information sharing between the armed forces of the two countries.
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Earlier India and the US had signed the GSOMIA (General Security of Military Information Agreement) in 2002, the LEMOA (Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement in 2016 and the COMCASA (Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement in 2018
In June 2016, the US had designated India a “Major Defence Partner.
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