Chief of Defence Staff General N. S. Raja Subramani with Admiral Samuel Paparo

Admiral Samuel Paparo, Commander of the US Pacific Command (USPACOM), has held a series of high-level engagements with India's senior military leadership during his ongoing visit to New Delhi, underlining the growing strategic depth of the India-US defence relationship, IANS reported.

US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor hosted Admiral Paparo during the visit and described him as one of America's most consequential military leaders. Paparo leads the United States' oldest and largest geographic combatant command, overseeing around 400,000 military and civilian personnel across a region that covers roughly half of the globe.

During the engagement, Admiral Paparo met Chief of Defence Staff General N. S. Raja Subramani, Chief of the Army Staff General Dhiraj Seth, Vice Chief of the Air Staff Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit, Chief of Integrated Defence Staff Air Marshal Tejinder Singh and other senior Indian defence officials.

The gathering highlighted what both sides described as the increasing strength, ambition and strategic significance of the India-US Major Defence Partnership, which has become a central pillar of cooperation between the world's two largest democracies.

Earlier in the visit, Admiral Paparo also met External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar. The discussions focused on advancing bilateral security cooperation and maritime collaboration across the Indo-Pacific, a region that has emerged as a key area of strategic convergence for New Delhi and Washington.

Admiral Paparo arrived in India on Saturday for a six-day official visit aimed at further strengthening military-to-military cooperation and expanding defence engagement between the two countries.

Talks during the visit are centred on several shared security priorities, including digital transformation, emerging and critical technologies, regional strategic stability, defence energy resilience and the challenges posed by an increasingly competitive technology environment.

Maritime security remains another major focus area, reflecting the growing importance both nations place on maintaining a free, open and stable Indo-Pacific as well as safeguarding critical sea lanes and regional stability.

The US Embassy stated that India and the United States are building a future-ready defence partnership capable of addressing emerging security challenges through cooperation in advanced technologies, interoperability and maritime security.

The visit comes amid expanding defence collaboration between the two countries, including joint military exercises, greater operational coordination, technology cooperation and broader Indo-Pacific security engagement.

According to the US Embassy, Admiral Paparo's visit underscores the strength of the India-US Major Defence Partnership and reaffirms the United States' enduring strategic presence and interests in the Indian Ocean region.

Agencies