India and US defence ties took a key step forward with US Defence Secretary calling his Indian counterpart and pledging to build upon the defence cooperation between the nations.

This was the first conversation between James Mattis, since he was sworn in as Defense Secretary by President Donald Trump, and Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar.

“In their first conversation, Secretary Mattis committed to build upon the tremendous progress in bilateral defense cooperation made in recent years, underscoring the strategic importance of the US-India relationship and India’s role in advancing global peace and security,” the Pentagon Press Secretary Capt Jeff Davis said.

“Secretary Mattis and Minister Parrikar affirmed their commitment to sustain the momentum on key bilateral defence efforts to include the defence technology and trade initiative,” Davis said after the phone call between the two leaders, which took place on Wednesday.