NEW DELHI: As foreign minister S Jaishankar held a bilateral meeting with US defence secretary Pete Hegseth, the latter expressed hope that the US can complete several major pending defence sales to India and expand shared defence industrial cooperation. Noting mutual concern about the danger of aggression in the Asia-Pacific region, according to a US readout, the two reviewed pending defence sales, the signing of the next ’10 Year Defence Framework’ and progress on advanced tech policy reviews.The two countries had announced plans to pursue new procurements and co-production arrangements for Javelin anti-tank guided missiles and Stryker armoured vehicles. Talks are also on for procurement of six additional P-8I maritime patrol aircraft from US. Rubio ‘affirms strength of India-US relations‘ The US is looking at more defence procurement by India also to reduce the bilateral trade imbalance.Jaishankar told Hegseth the India-United States defence partnership is today truly one of the most consequential pillars of the relationship. “It is not built merely on shared interests, but we believe really in deepening convergence of capabilities, of responsibilities, and what we do in the Indo-Pacific, we believe is absolutely crucial to its strategic stability,” he said.Jaishankar also met his counterpart Marco Rubio who, according to an American readout, affirmed the strength of the US-India relationship, highlighting implementation of the US-India COMPACT which will enhance collaboration on trade, defence, energy, countering illegal immigration and counternarcotics. Jaishankar said he discussed bilateral partnership, including trade, while sharing perspectives on regional and global developments.