Admiral Sunil Lanba, Chairman Chief of Staff Committee and the Chief of the Naval Staff is visiting Rhode Island, USA on a bilateral visit from 18 to 22 September for attending the 23rd edition of the International Seapower Symposium (ISS) organised by the US Navy. He is scheduled to present his views on the topic ‘Defending the Maritime Commons: Safeguarding the Free and International Order’ and participate in panel discussion during the symposium.
According to a press release of Defence Ministry , Admiral Sunil Lanba is scheduled to hold bilateral discussions with Admiral John M Richardson, Chief of Naval Operations (CNO), Admiral Philip S Davidson, Commander, Indo-Pacific Command (INDO-PACOM), Admiral John C Aquilino, Commander, Pacific Fleet (PACFLT), Admiral James G Foggo, Commander Naval Forces, Europe and Vice Admiral Scott Stearney, Commander NAVCENT and Commander 5th Fleet of the US Navy during hs visit . In addition, he would be interacting with Chiefs of Navies of Japan, France, Australia, UK, Malaysia and Sweden as well as several other senior dignitaries.
India and USA have traditionally maintained close and friendly relations. The Defence relationship between the two countries has been one of mutual trust and confidence, which translated into the US according major Defence partner status to India in June 2016.
In addition, both countries have concluded certain major agreements, which include the Defence Framework Agreement, signed in 2015, which lays a blue print for collaboration between the defence establishments of both countries, the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA) signed in 2016, which is a foundational agreement, facilitating reciprocal logistics support between the Armed Forces of both countries and the more recent Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA) signed on 6th September, that will facilitate information-sharing between the Armed Forces of both nations.
