India, US officials meet for first maritime security dialogue

The United States and Indian officials on Monday met for the first U.S.-India Maritime Security Dialogue at the Jawaharlal Nehru Bhawan in New Delhi.

Assistant Secretary of Defense for Asian and Pacific Security Affairs David Shear, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Manpreet Anand and Vice Admiral Aucoin, Commander, U.S. Seventh Fleet, met with their Indian counterparts from the Ministry of External Affairs and the Ministry of Defense to discuss strategic maritime security issues, an official release from the Embassy of United States said.

The officials also discussed issues related to Asia-Pacific maritime challenges, naval cooperation, and multilateral engagement.

U.S. Ambassador to India Richard Verma, who also participated in the meeting, asserted on the going relations between both nations.

"The creation of this dialogue was agreed to during Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter's recent visit to India and is a further sign of the growing relations between our two countries," he said.