United States Defence Secretary Robert Gates on Tuesday met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh amidst a desire by the US to step up military cooperation and see that India and Pakistan join hands to combat terrorism.
Gates, who arrived on Tuesday morning on a two-day visit, will hold substantive talks with Defence Minister A K Antony on Wednesday during which he is expected to push the reluctant India to sign a bilateral Logistics Support Agreement and a communication sharing pact.
Arriving in New Delhi ahead of his visit to Pakistan, he met the PM and Union External Affairs Minister S M Krishna during which the situation in the region came up for discussion.
Gates is understood to have provided his assessment of the challenge posed by terrorism emanating from Pakistan-Afghanistan region and sought the views of the Indian leadership on the issue, official sources said.
Ahead of his visit in New Delhi, Gates said stability in the region was essential for India, Pakistan along with rest of the world and that he wanted the two countries to pay greater attention to the terror threat.
"Regional stability is very important for everybody involved," Gates told mediapersons. To a question, he said the US was 'always interested' in seeing India and Pakistan focusing less on each other and more on the threat of terrorism.
He said it was worth appreciating that India and Pakistan had shown restraint in the aftermath of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks despite suspicions.
"Even within the framework of that attack, and the suspicions it created, the two sides have managed to keep the tensions between them at a manageable level," Gates told accompanying mediapersons.
The visit comes amid US' desire to sign the Logistics Support Agreement, which would entail provision of air and seaports to each other on reciprocal basis.
India is reluctant on signing this and is weighing all pros and cons before going ahead. The US is also pushing India to sign the Communication Inter-operability and Security Memorandum of Agreement, which will provide for sharing of information by enabling an easier interface between their militaries.
The two sides are also in talks to supply of several military equipment including C-17 transport aircraft, artillery guns and US companies are bidding for Indian defence contracts for $ 9 billion 126 multi role combat aircraft, described as mother of all deals.
Gates is also expected to meet Army Chief General Deepak Kapoor, Indian Air Force Chief Air Chief Marshal P V Naik and Naval Chief Admiral Nirmal Verma during the course of his visit to the defence ministry headquarters on Wednesday.
Image: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh with US Defence Secretary Robert Gates in New Delhi on Tuesday
Photograph: B Mathur / Reuters
