New Delhi: United States Ambassador to India Kenneth I. Juster accompanied by US Consul-General in Mumbai Edgard D. Kagan and two other members visited Western Naval Command Headquarters here on Saturday.
During the visit, the US Ambassador interacted with Vice Admiral Girish Luthra, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Western Naval Command and also visited a guided missile destroyer of the Western Fleet, INS Kochi.
India-US naval cooperation has grown substantially over the last two decades. The two nations are party to a maritime security dialogue which is conducted annually. The relationship between the two navies has grown stronger and reliable over the years.
Naval cooperation between India and US is spread over a wide canvas, which inter alia includes annual bilateral exercise MALABAR, goodwill visits by ships and high-level delegation visits. The Navies of both the countries are committed to ensuring maritime security in the Indian Ocean Region.
India and US have come a long way in institutionalising their defence relationship. Navies of both the countries share converging views on maritime areas of concern, Anti-Piracy, Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief.
The current visit by the US ambassador would further strengthen the existing bonds between the two navies.
[source_without_link]ANI[/source_without_link]