NEW DELHI: US director of national intelligence Tulsi Gabbard on Monday held bilateral discussions with Union defence minister Rajnath Singh, focusing on the boosting defence and security ties between the two countries.
During the meet, ways to enhance defence and security ties were discussed, news agency PTI reported quoting sources.
“Happy to have met the US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard in New Delhi. We discussed a wide range of issues which include defence and information sharing, aiming to further deepen the India-US partnership,” Rajnath said after the meeting.
This comes a day after national security advisor Ajit Doval met Gabbard, who is on a two-and-half-day trip to India. The meeting between Doval and Gabbard primarily addressed intelligence sharing and security collaboration, aligning with the India-US strategic partnership, and was a “good discussion.”
Gabbard commenced her two-and-a-half-day visit to Delhi on the day of the intelligence conclave, marking the first senior-level visit from the Donald Trump administration to India in the US President’s second term, which began in January.
Gabbard’s visit is part of a broader tour, which will also take her to Japan, Thailand and France. On Tuesday, she is scheduled to speak on second day of the Raisina Dialogue, a multilateral conference held annually in Delhi.
She previously met Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his Washington DC visit last month. Intelligence chiefs at the Doval-chaired conference Besides Gabbard, the conference was attended by Canadian intelligence head Daniel Rogers, UK NSA Jonathan Powell, and intelligence chiefs from Australia, Germany, New Zealand and various other nations friendly to India.