India and US to Hold Tri-Service Exercise in Visakhapatnam

VISAKHAPATNAM: The India-USA tri-services defence exercise will be held for the first time in Visakhapatnam next month, informed US consul general (Hyderabad Consulate) Joel Reifman, on his maiden visit to Visakhapatnam and Andhra Pradesh.
Reifman was in the port city on Monday to welcome the US Navy’s ‘submarine tender’ ship Emory S Land during the ship’s maiden visit to Visakhapatnam. Calling his first visit a productive one, the consul general said, “I had some discussions about the submarines with the Indian Navy officials here. This is the third time this year that a US naval ship visited Visakhapatnam. The substantive exchanges between the two navies during this visit will further bolster coordination. The US-India partnership at sea is significant to ensuring the safety of sea lanes and security in the Indo-Pacific region.”

Elaborating on the strong defence ties between the two countries, the consul general said, “Joint defence production would commence in Hyderabad. The wings of US-based F21 and F16 fighter jet aircrafts will be produced in Hyderabad soon. Defence collaboration is increasing and bilateral ties are getting stronger,” he said.
“Apart from defence ties, a lot of bilateral trade is also taking place in the sectors of tech firms, energy, food processing, shrimp industry and so on,” said the consul general, who will meet chief minister Jaganmohan Reddy in Vijayawada on Tuesday.

Source: ToI

Image Courtesy: DC