The Adm Paparo India visit, which runs from Monday to Thursday, has brought the Commander of the US Pacific Command into talks with Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh on strengthening India-US defence and strategic cooperation.

The two sides also exchanged views on regional and global issues, according to the Ministry of Defence.

Defence Secretary holds talks with Adm Paparo

Admiral Samuel Paparo is in India on a four-day visit. His meeting with the Defence Secretary covered the wider India-US defence and strategic relationship, the Ministry of Defence said.

It was the second meeting between the two this year. Singh and Adm Paparo met on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore in May, where they reviewed military-to-military cooperation and discussed ways to strengthen defence collaboration, the ministry said at the time.



CDS and Army Chief attend US Ambassador's dinner for Adm Paparo

US Ambassador Sergio Gor hosted a dinner in the admiral's honour at Roosevelt House in New Delhi on Monday, the opening day of the visit, according to the US Embassy in New Delhi.

The Chief of Defence Staff, General NS Raja Subramani, led the Indian side. Chief of the Army Staff Gen Dhiraj Seth, Vice Chief of the Air Staff Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit and Chief of Integrated Defence Staff Air Marshal Tejinder Singh were also present, along with other senior Indian defence officials, the embassy said. The evening was held to mark the US-India Major Defense Partnership.

Gor watched Indian and US troops fire together at the Mahajan Field Firing Ranges during Yudh Abhyas 2026 on 24 September.

Montana Governor joins the evening

Montana Governor Greg Gianforte, visiting India with a business and industry delegation, also attended.

US Pacific Command oversees around 400,000 personnel

Adm Paparo heads what the embassy described as the oldest and largest US geographic combatant command, with around 400,000 military and civilian personnel across a region spanning roughly half the globe.

The US Pacific Command carried the name US Indo-Pacific Command from May 2018 until 16 June this year, when the US Department of War restored its original designation. Its area of responsibility, which includes the Indian Ocean region, was left unchanged. Adm Paparo has led the command since May 2024. He was recently featured on the cover of TIME magazine, the embassy noted.

Adm Paparo India visit follows ten year defence framework

The Adm Paparo India visit comes after the Defence Minister and the US Secretary of War signed a ten year Defence Framework on 31 October 2025, on the sidelines of the 12th ADMM Plus in Kuala Lumpur, according to the Ministry of Defence annual report for 2025-26.

The Indian Navy and the command also renewed their Maritime Defence Information Sharing and Cooperation technical arrangement for five years from 26 October 2025, the report noted.

Singh also met a bipartisan US House delegation led by Representative Brian Mast, Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, on 28 September, with defence industrial and technological cooperation at the centre of those talks.