Pentagon's Colby hosts Indian envoy Kwatra, eyes to 'elevate critical defence cooperation with India'

India’s Ambassador to the US, Vinay Mohan Kwatra, met with American Under Secretary of Defence of War for Policy Elbridge Colby to review the current agenda of bilateral defence cooperation. The two officials also discussed ways to further strengthen the strategic partnership between India and the United States.

In a post on X, Kwatra said he had a ”productive conversation” with Colby, describing him as ”brilliant”.

The envoy said they reviewed the current agenda and charted actionable path on several initiatives in the pipeline of India-US defence cooperation.

He also appreciated Colby’s ”deep knowledge, perspective and consistent support” for the ”strategic” bilateral partnership.

Colby, in a post on X, said he was ”very pleased” to host Kwatra at the Pentagon earlier this week for a ”valuable discussion”.

”We at the Department of War look forward to continuing to elevate our critical defence cooperation with India,” he said.

Kwatra, on September 16 highlighted the longstanding collaboration between the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and NASA, calling it a key pillar of India-US cooperation.

Speaking at the India-USA Space Collaboration event in Washington, Kwatra said that India plans a manned moon mission and a space station between 2028 and 2035, with NASA continuing to play a vital partnership role in these projects.

With inputs from agencies