India, US discuss capacity-building in AI

New Delhi, November 22

India and the US today emphasised the need to work together for capability-building in critical domains such as military aviation, artificial intelligence and cyber technology.

This was discussed at a meeting between Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin on the sidelines of the ASEAN Defence Ministers Plus (ADMM-Plus) meeting in Cambodia today.

The two Defence Ministers discussed a wide range of issues of mutual interest while expressing their commitment to a strong India-US defence cooperation, the Indian Ministry of Defence (MoD) said.

Rajnath Singh said he looked forward to building a roadmap towards greater defence industrial collaboration between India and the US. He highlighted India’s growing expertise in aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) and ship-building, repairs and refits, and suggested specific areas where US defence companies could look for technology cooperation and manufacturing opportunities with Indian partners in India. “Secretary Austin welcomed the suggestions and assured the Defence Minister of cooperation,” the MoD said.

Meanwhile, Rajnath and his Cambodian counterpart General Tea Banh co-chaired the maiden India-ASEAN Defence Ministers’ meeting where the former asserted that “India and ASEAN must work together for maritime security in the region”.