New Delhi — US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor described defence and security cooperation as the most strategically important dimension of the India–US relationship. He said the US-India Major Defense Partnership is deepening under a renewed 10-year framework, with stronger defense industrial collaboration, expanded science and technology ties, and closer operational coordination.
Gor also highlighted the transformative potential of increased economic investment and trade. He noted President Trump’s stated aim to expand bilateral commerce in ways that create new opportunities for American businesses and workers, adding that India’s expanding economy and large infrastructure needs match US strengths in energy, aviation, advanced manufacturing and digital infrastructure. Those investments, he said, would benefit both countries and strengthen the economic basis of their long-term strategic partnership.
On military cooperation, Gor stressed India’s status as a Major Defence Partner and pointed to efforts to improve interoperability through joint exercises such as Malabar, Tiger Triumph and Cope India. He said shared Quad membership further aligns strategic interests and argued that diplomacy, combined with defense exercises and military sales, form three core pillars that sustain and grow bilateral defense ties. If those elements are preserved, he predicted, defence relations will naturally strengthen.
Bilateral military engagement remains active: the 16th edition of Exercise Vajra Prahar 2026, a premier joint Special Forces exercise between the Indian Army and the US Army, took place at the Special Forces Training School in Bakloh, Himachal Pradesh, from February 23 to March 15.
Gor’s remarks reflect a continuity of institutional frameworks underpinning cooperation: the New Framework for India–US Defence Cooperation was renewed for ten years in 2015, the relationship was designated a Major Defence Partnership in 2016, and on July 30, 2018, India was placed in Tier-1 of the US Department of Commerce’s Strategic Trade Authorization license exception.
