Rajnath exhorts US defence majors to join 'Make in India', 'Make for World'

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday met with US aerospace and defence majors Boeing and Raytheon and exhorted them to take advantage of the policy initiatives in India aimed at 'Make in India'

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday (local time) met with US aerospace and defence majors Boeing and Raytheon and exhorted them to take advantage of the policy initiatives in India aimed at 'Make in India' and 'Make for World'.

"Raksha Mantri Shri @rajnathsingh met with the U.S. aerospace & defence majors Boeing and Raytheon after reaching Washington DC. He exhorted the companies to take advantage of policy initiatives in India to steadily march from 'Make in India' towards 'Make for the World'," tweeted the Office of the Defence Minister.

The minister arrived in Washington DC on Sunday as part of his five-day US visit during which he will take part in the fourth India-US 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue. During his stay in the US till April 15, Singh will hold talks with the US leadership on ways to deepen the India-US strategic partnership.

The defence minister will also meet his US counterpart Lloyd J Austin III at the Pentagon on Monday.

India and the US are set to hold the 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue on Monday, with the Indian side being led by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar.

"The Dialogue would enable both sides to undertake a comprehensive review of cross-cutting issues in the India-US bilateral agenda related to foreign policy, defence and security with the objective of providing strategic guidance and a vision for further consolidating the relationship," a Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) statement stated.

The MEA also stated that the 2+2 India-US Ministerial Dialogue will also provide an opportunity to exchange views about important regional and global developments and also on issues to address common interests and concerns.

The EAM during his stay in the US during April 11-12 will meet his counterpart, Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, besides senior members of the US administration to advance the India-US strategic global partnership, MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi informed during a media briefing.

Ahead of the 2+2 dialogue, Blinken had last week called Jaishankar to review regional and global priorities, including the situation in Ukraine. The last 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue between the two countries was held in October 2020 in New Delhi.

India and the United States held a bilateral 2+2 inter-sessional meeting in September last year in Washington and exchanged assessments on developments in South Asia, the Indo-Pacific region and the Western Indian Ocean.

Ahead of the 2+2 dialogue between India and the US, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to hold a virtual meeting with US President Joe Biden on Monday.