New Delhi, March 18 : The US Secretary of Defence,, Lloyd Austin, has appreciated the important role being played by the Indian Navy in conducting anti-piracy operations in the Indian Ocean region.

He appreciated the Navy while having a discussion with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh over the phone on Monday. Both ministers briefly discussed a range of bilateral, regional security and defence cooperation issues.

According to the Ministry of Defence they reviewed the recent bilateral events such as the INDUS-X Summit held in New Delhi in February 2024, and the bilateral Tri-Service exercise 'Tiger Triumph' which has also commenced in India on March 18, 2024.

The two Ministers discussed ways and means to implement the India-US Defence Cooperation Roadmap which was concluded last year. Other defence industrial cooperation issues such as repair of US naval ships in Indian shipyards were also briefly discussed.

Both had last met in New Delhi in November 2023 during the India-US Ministerial 2+2 Dialogue.

/IANS