U.S. Defence Secretary Ashton Carter will be in India on 2 June. It will be his maiden trip to the country after taking charge as the defence secretary in February 2015.
Carter will be visiting the headquarters of the Eastern Naval Command in Vizag, following which he will meet Indian Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar in New Delhi. Additionally, he will also meet the National Security Advisor, Ajit Doval; and the External Affairs Minister, Sushma Swaraj. He is also expected to call on Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
During the meeting Carter is expected to renew the U.S.-India 2005 Defence Framework Agreement (DFA), which is set to lapse in June, for 10 more years. The DFA’s renewal will benefit the Defence Trade and Technology Initiative (DTTI) which was initiated when Carter was the deputy Secretary of Defense. The Agreement is expected to increase cooperation in areas of maritime security, co-development and co-production of military hardware, aircraft carrier and jet engine technology.