Washington: Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman concludes her five-day official visit to the United State on Monday. Commencing her visit she asserted that New Delhi sees the US as an important partner in the field of defense.

In her remarks at the start of her bilateral talks with the US Defence Secretary James Mattis at the Pentagon, Defence Minister said mutual trust and confidence in defense partnership between US and Indian were growing. She said "A strong foundation has been laid for the India-US defense relationship over the years. India sees the US as an important partner in defence,"

Sitharaman said, adding that the two countries have good military to military cooperation, defence consultations, scientific collaborations and co-production and co-development and industry collaboration.

Defence minister further appreciated the responsiveness of the Trump Administration to India's sensitivities. Talking about the relationship between two countries she said tha "Especially over the past three to four years, we have made considerable progress. Our relations, based on common democratic values, enjoy strong political and popular support in both countries. There's a growing mutual trust and also the confidence in defence partnership, which augurs very well for the future.