four-day visit to the US by Ajit Doval:Meets Higher Officials in US

Washington, March 25 (IANS) India and the US pledged to continue their strong defence partnership during a meeting here between Indian National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and US Secretary of Defence James Mattis.According to a readout of their meeting by Pentagon Spokesman Capt. Jeff Davis, Mattis hosted Doval at the Pentagon on Thursday to discuss the importance of the US-India relationship, and the role of both nations in cooperating to uphold international laws and principles. Mattis specifically applauded India's efforts to promote stability in the South Asia region. Both of them reaffirmed building upon the significant defence cooperation progress made in recent years, the statement said. Mattis and Doval discussed collaboration on a wide range of regional security matters including maritime security and counter terrorism and the two pledged to continue the strong defence partnership between both nations.Indian Ambassador to US Navtej Sarna was also present at the meeting.Doval, who is on a four-day visit to the US, also met Secretary of Homeland Security General (Retd) John Kelly and National Security Advisor Lt Gen H.R. McMaster.During his meeting with McMaster, both sides reviewed the security situation in South Asia.Doval's visit to the US comes days after that of Indian Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar.