75 years of Indo-US partnership built on shared democratic values: Bapna

Bengaluru, June 10 (PTI) When the world is going through geo-political struggles, India and the United States have emerged as trusted partners, said Assistant Chief of the Indian Naval staff Rear Admiral Nirbhay Bapna on Monday.

“The India-US strategic partnership is a collaboration built on shared democratic values and common interest. It plays a pivotal role in ensuring regional security and stability in the Indo-Pacific region,” he said.

He was delivering a keynote address virtually at a symposium, ‘Partners in Progress’, organised jointly by Elliott School of International Affairs, Chennai, George Washington University and Christ University, Bengaluru, with support from the US Consulate General, Chennai.

The two-day symposium was inaugurated on June 10 by US Defense Attache Rear Admiral Michael Baker at Christ University in Bengaluru in the presence of Christ University Vice Chancellor Rev Jose CC.

In his keynote address, highlighting the issues in the Indo-Pacific region, caused both by military aspirations as well as climate crisis, Bapna spoke about how amid such geo-political ramifications, India and the US have managed to build a comprehensive global strategic partnership in 75 years.

“There is convergence between the two countries in their shared vision for a peaceful and prosperous Indo-Pacific region,” he added.

According to him, information sharing and maritime domain awareness are priority areas of cooperation for both the countries.

“The partnership is set to deepen further. Both nations are likely to enhance collaboration in emerging domains like cybersecurity, space, underwater, and artificial intelligence. The evolving security dynamics underscores the importance of a strong Indo-U.S. naval partnership, which is a testimony to the strength of the Indo-US strategic relationship,” he said.

Meanwhile, in his opening remarks, US Rear Admiral Baker said the US-India defence partnership has become a pillar of global peace and security.

“Our countries are making substantial progress through joint exercises, the reinforcement of defence industrial cooperation, the annual 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue, and other consultative mechanisms.” According to him, these efforts contribute towards ensuring that the Indo-Pacific is a region of peace, stability, and growing prosperity and economic inclusion.

Arun Singh, former Indian Ambassador to the United States, participated virtually in the plenary session of the symposium, sharing his insights gained from his job.

Vice president of East West Center Satu Limaye also shared his views on the strategic Indo-US partnership during the plenary session.

The two-day symposium will focus on thematic areas such as the US-India strategic landscape and its impact, defence and security dialogues, defence technology trade and production, and military interoperability.

Symposium participants included 50 US and Indian opinion leaders and strategic analysts with expertise on geopolitics and international relations. PTI JR ROH