New Delhi:External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar is all set to meet the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Washington DC on Tuesday. The meeting comes against the backdrop of India expressing concern over the F-16 deal between the US and Pakistan. Upon completion of his visit to New York for the UNGA session, the top Indian diplomat reached Washington and was accorded a warm welcome by Secretary of Defense Llyod Austin.
Both the leaders noted that Defence and Security cooperation is a key pillar of the contemporary India-US partnership and emphasized the steady progress in policy exchange, interoperability, defense trade, service exercises, and military-industrial cooperation. Referring to the argument made by the US that the F-16 sustenance package is to fight terrorism, Jaishankar had said publicly that 'everybody knows where and against whom F-16 fighter jets are used.'
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