US reaffirms Major Defence Partner status for India

The Trump Administration on Tuesday reaffirmed the Major Defence Partner status granted to India as its National Security Adviser H R McMaster met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and held talks with his counterpart Ajit Doval here.

During the meeting between Modi and McMaster, views were exchanged on how India and the US can work together to effectively address the challenge of terrorism and to advance regional peace, security and stability, a PMO statement said.

McMaster, whose trip here marks the first visit by a top official of the Trump Administration, shared his perspective with the Prime Minister on the security situation in the extended region, including Afghanistan, West Asia and North Korea.

The US NSA conveyed the greetings of President Donald Trump to the Prime Minister, the PMO statement said about the meeting in which Doval, Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar and some other key officials were present.

"NSA McMaster emphasised the importance of the US-India strategic relationship and reaffirmed India's designation as a Major Defence Partner," said a statement issued by the US Embassy here. India was granted the Major Defence Partner status by the previous Barack Obama Administration in December last year.

Modi recalled his "positive telephonic conversations" with Trump that "reaffirmed the importance attached by both sides to the strategic partnership and to stepping up India-US engagement across the board", the PMO statement said.