U.S. Defence Secretary receives Guard of Honour at South Block

U.S. Defence Secretary Ashton Carter was accorded a Guard of Honour at the South Block here on Wednesday.

Union Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar was also present during the ceremony.

The visiting dignitary earlier paid tributes at the Amar Jawan Jyoti here. He laid a wreath in the honour of the soldiers at the war memorial.

Carter, who is also leading a high-level delegation, is scheduled to meet External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj today. He will also call on Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

India and U.S is expected to sign a new 10-year defence framework, which was decided during the visit of U.S President Barack Obama in Delhi in January.

This is Carter's first visit to India as Secretary of Defence. He had earlier visited India in September 2013 and July 2012 as Deputy Secretary of Defence.

Carter, who arrived in Visakhapatnam yesterday, visited the Eastern Naval Command. He also visited the indigenous stealth frigate, INS Sahyadri there.