Indian Army Chief General Manoj Pande will leave for the US on a four-day official tour on Tuesday to hold talks with his US counterpart General Randy George and other senior military leaders to further strengthen defence cooperation between the two nations.
“This visit underscores the deepening military co-operation and strategic partnership between India and the US, aiming to further strengthen defence cooperation and foster stronger bonds between the armies of both nations,” the Ministry of Defence said on Monday.
General Pande, during his engagements with military brass of the US, including US Chief of Staff of Army General Randy George, will exchange ideas on crucial topics such as transformation in the Indian Army, global threat perception, transformation to Army 2030/2040, human resource challenges, future force development and modernisation, and co-production and co-development initiatives.” It may be recalled that Randy George had recently visited India for the Indo-Pacific Army Chiefs Conference (IPACC), that was jointly hosted by the armies of India and the US.
These discussions, as per the MoD, are aimed at sharing insights, ideas, and best practices between the two armies. General Pande will go to the ‘Army Geospatial Centre’ at Fort Belvoir, the ‘National Defence University’ at Fort McNair, and have interactions with leadership at Headquarters 1 Corps.
He will also engage with units at the forefront of military innovation and strategy, including the Stryker Unit, the first multi-domain task force, the first special forces group in Seattle, and the Defence Innovation Unit in San Francisco. Pande’s visit assumes importance since the US is trying to sell Stryker armoured vehicles to India.
The Ministry of Defence stated that a visit to the California National Guard is also planned, highlighting the comprehensive nature of the visit aimed at exploring avenues for more significant training, co-development, and co-production engagements.
This tour is another milestone in the Indo-US defence relationship, reflecting a mutual desire to enhance military collaboration, exchange strategic perspectives on global threat perceptions, and work together toward future force development and modernisation, as the MoD’s statement read. “The engagements between General Manoj Pande and senior leadership of the United States Army are poised to yield substantive outcomes, fostering an environment conducive to shared security interests and defence cooperation,” the Ministry pointed out.