USINDOPACOM chief Admiral Paparo visits India, highlights growing US-India defence partnership
New Delhi, Oct 5. US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor hosted a dinner at Roosevelt House here on October 5 in honour of Admiral Samuel Paparo, Commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM), during his October 5-8 visit to India, highlighting the expanding strategic and defence ties between the two countries.
Paparo, one of the senior-most US military commanders, heads the US Pacific Command, the country’s largest and oldest geographic combatant command. The command oversees around 400,000 military and civilian personnel across an area covering nearly half of the globe.
The US commander’s visit comes amid growing emphasis by India and the United States on strengthening defence cooperation and maintaining a free, open and secure Indo-Pacific region.
The dinner was attended by 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 underscored the increasing importance attached by both sides to the India-US Major Defence Partnership and their shared strategic interests in the Indo-Pacific.
Paparo has recently received considerable international attention for his role in shaping US military strategy in the Pacific. He was featured on the cover of Time magazine in a profile examining his responsibilities in maintaining US military strength in the region and building credible deterrence aimed at preventing conflict.
The dinner also highlighted the growing economic dimension of the bilateral relationship, with Montana Governor Greg Gianforte attending along with a delegation of business and industry leaders visiting India.
His presence reflected the expanding role of US states, companies and private-sector innovators in strengthening trade and investment ties with India, alongside the two countries’ expanding strategic cooperation.
The engagement brought together senior military and political representatives from both countries, highlighting the increasingly broad-based nature of India-US relations.
The defence relationship has emerged as a key pillar of the broader bilateral partnership, with the two sides expanding military-to-military engagement, exercises, defence technology cooperation and interoperability.
Paparo’s India visit is expected to provide an opportunity for discussions with senior Indian defence and military officials on regional security, maritime cooperation and strengthening coordination in the Indo-Pacific.
The visit and the dinner hosted in his honour underscored the convergence of India’s and the United States’ strategic interests as both countries seek to deepen their partnership in the face of an evolving security environment in the Indo-Pacific.
