Indian envoy to US meets senior Pentagon official, holds 'valuable discussion'

Washington, Sep 18 (IANS) India's Ambassador to the United States, Vinay Kwatra held a "productive conversation" with the US Undersecretary of War for Policy Elbridge Colby at the US Department of War headquarters in the Pentagon recently as both sides charted an actionable path on several initiatives.

“A productive conversation with the brilliant Elbridge Colby. Reviewed the current agenda and charted actionable path on several initiatives in the pipeline of India-US defence cooperation. Value his deep knowledge, perspective and consistent support for our strategic partnership,” Kwatra posted on X on Thursday.

Colby also took to social media, informing about the interaction and terming it as a “valuable discussion.”

“I was very pleased to host Ambassador 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 wrote on X.

The meeting comes days after armies of the two countries concluded the 21st edition of Exercise Yudh Abhyas 2025, the annual bilateral army-to-army exercise between India and the United States, in Alaska.

In a statement on Monday, the Indian Embassy in Washington termed the exercises a “hallmark of the growing military-to-military interaction between India and the US aligned with the Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership between both countries.”

The engagements take place as India-US relations appear to be on the mend.

In their first phone conversation in months, Trump called Prime Minister Modi on Tuesday to wish him on his 75th birthday.

Prime Minister Modi, in a post on X, termed Trump as his “friend” and thanked him for the wishes.

“Thank you, my friend, President Trump, for your phone call and warm greetings on my 75th birthday. Like you, I am also fully committed to taking the India-US Comprehensive and Global Partnership to new heights. We support your initiatives towards a peaceful resolution of the Ukraine conflict,” PM Modi wrote.

President Trump also posted on Truth Social, calling the phone call “wonderful” and thanked him for his support in attempting to end the conflict in Ukraine.

“Just had a wonderful phone call with my friend, Prime Minister Narendra Modi. I wished him a very Happy Birthday! He is doing a tremendous job. Narendra: Thank you for your support on ending the War between Russia and Ukraine!,” he said.

The phone call happened on the day US Assistant Trade Representative for South and Central Asia Brendan Lynch held trade talks with India’s chief trade negotiator Rajesh Agrawal in Delhi.

Both sides termed the discussions as “positive.”

--IANS

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