In a major diplomatic outreach to strengthen India-US strategic cooperation, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri and Deputy National Security Advisor (NSA) Pavan Kapoor met high-level officials, including US Under Secretary of Defence Elbridge Colby, in Washington. The trip is part of an overall effort to operationalize the newly launched India-US COMPACT (Catalysing Opportunities for Military Partnership, Accelerated Commerce & Technology) of the 21st century. The Indian delegation is currently in the United States for a three-day official visit from May 27 to 29, following up on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s US trip in February 2025.

Taking to social media platform X (formerly Twitter), US Under Secretary of Defence Elbridge Colby expressed his appreciation after meeting Misri and Kapoor. “It was great to meet today with India’s Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri and Deputy NSA Pavan Kapoor. The US-India alliance is on fundamentally strong ground based on shared interests and mutual respect. We here at DoD are striving hard to elevate defense cooperation as part of this critical partnership,” Colby wrote.

Strategic Meetings With Think Tank Experts On Defence, Tech, and Trade

During their visit, Misri and Kapoor also interacted with leading US think tank specialists, and were involved in extensive deliberations that encompassed defence cooperation, technology collaborations, trade patterns, and significant regional and global developments. The Indian Embassy in the US tweeted about the interaction on X, “Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri and Deputy NSA Ambassador Pavan Kapoor held an engaging interaction with leading US think tank experts today. Wide-ranging discussions covered India-US cooperation in defence, technology, and trade, as well as key regional and global developments.”

MEA spokesman Randhir Jaiswal has confirmed that Foreign Secretary Misri headed the Indian side in inter-agency interactions at the White House. These interactions were aimed at putting into action trust-based measures under the India-US COMPACT framework, with special focus on key and emerging technologies, defence collaboration, energy partnerships, and consolidating plurilateral mechanisms such as QUAD, IMEC, and I2U2. “He led our delegation, comprising Deputy NSA, for inter-agency discussions on the India-US Compact for the 21st century. The meeting focused on implementing trust initiatives which are about critical and emerging technology partnerships,” said Jaiswal.

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Discussion With Senior US Officials: Deepening Strategic Partnership

Foreign Secretary Misri also had bilateral discussions with Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau, during which the two sides reaffirmed their determination to deepening the India-US Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership. “They discussed all aspects of the bilateral relationship and agreed that technology, trade, and talent will be the key pillars of the India-US partnership in the 21st century,” said the MEA. Additionally, Misri met Under Secretary Jeffrey Kessler to further discussions on critical technology cooperation and explore new areas of synergy.

The high-level meetings are part of the ongoing implementation of the India-US COMPACT, launched during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s state visit to the US in February 2025. The initiative seeks to catalyse opportunities for deeper military cooperation, accelerated commerce, and technological innovation between the world’s two largest democracies. “Foreign Secretary Shri Vikram Misri will be visiting Washington, D.C., USA from 27-29 May 2025 to meet senior officials of the US Administration. The visit is a follow-up to Prime Minister’s visit in February 2025, during which the India-U.S. COMPACT was launched.”

With inputs from agency.

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