US State Department official to visit India in effort to boost military sales

New York, May 19 (IANS) A senior US diplomat dealing with political and military affairs is to visit India later this month to seek ways of boosting military sales to India, while also discussing Indo-Pacific strategy.

Tina Kaidanow, the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs, "will hold talks on defence trade and peacekeeping, which are among two key areas of the rapidly growing US-India partnership as envisioned in the Administration’s Indo-Pacific strategy," the Sate Department said on Friday.

Her tour that includes visits to Germany and to two other countries that figure in US Indo-Pacific strategy, Japan and Singapore, kicks off on May 20, but the announcement did not give the dates of her India visit.

US-India bilateral defence trade has risen from near zero to $15 billion since 2008, the statement said, noting that India is projected to spend billions on military modernisation over the next decade.

"The talks will focus on expanding our security cooperation while furthering opportunities for American industry," it added.