India Army chief to visit US

Indian Army Chief General Dalbir Singh will be visiting the US on a "goodwill visit" from April 5 to 8 when he will also meet UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.

The visit is part of the ongoing high level exchanges between India and the US.

General Dalbir Singh will meet Ban at the UN headquarters to "strengthen the Indian Army's commitment towards UN Missions", an official statement here said.

He will also visit the US Central Command (CENTCOM) that includes countries in the Middle East, North Africa, and Central Asia including Afghanistan and Iraq in its Area of Responsibility.

He will also visit the United States Special Operations Command (SOCOM), the Unified Combatant Command charged with overseeing the various Special Operations Component Commands of the United States Armed Forces, headquarter 1 Corps and US Army's Manoeuvre Centre of Excellence (MCoE) where he will hold discussions with commanders of the US Army.

In Washington, General Dalbir Singh will meet US Secretary of Army, Chairman Jt. Chiefs of Staff, Chief of Staff of the US Army and Commander US Marine Corps, along with other officials.

The India-US ties have been transformed in recent years with a renewed Defence Framework Agreement, supply of defence equipment, sharing of technology and military-to-military exchanges.