Strengthening Ties: India-US Military Cooperation Group Meeting Concludes

India and the US concluded a crucial two-day Military Cooperation Group meeting, reaffirming their commitment to expanding bilateral military cooperation. The dialogue explored new areas like capacity building and joint exercises aimed at addressing conventional and hybrid threats in the Indo-Pacific region.

India and the United States have wrapped up a significant two-day meeting focused on military cooperation, which ended on Wednesday. During this meeting, representatives from both nations reaffirmed their resolve to expand the scope of their bilateral military relations. This comes at a crucial time, given the dynamic challenges present in the Indo-Pacific region.

The 21st edition of the India-US Military Cooperation Group (MCG) meeting took place at the Manekshaw Centre from November 5-6. Senior officials from the two countries used this opportunity to review ongoing initiatives and discuss new areas of collaboration. Topics covered in the meeting included capacity building, training exchanges, defense industrial cooperation, and the advancement of joint exercises to improve preparedness against conventional and hybrid threats, as stated by the Indian Defence Ministry on Wednesday.

The meeting was co-chaired by Chief of Integrated Defence Staff Lieutenant General J P Mathew for India and Deputy Commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command Lieutenant General Joshua M Rudd for the US. Both leaders emphasized the significance of the Indo-US defense partnership and expressed their commitment to bolster this strategic relationship through proactive engagement and increased interoperability. The 21st MCG meeting marks significant progress towards achieving shared goals of regional and global security, countering emerging threats, and building mutual capabilities.

(With inputs from agencies.)