New Delhi, Feb 26 : US Defence Secretary, Robert Gates arrived in New Delhi this afternoon on a two-day visit.

Gates is making his first visit to India since assuming office on December 18, 2006.

India and the US have a strong framework of defence cooperation established by the 2005 Defence Framework Agreement and a comprehensive institutional framework of exchanges.

It is expected that Secretary Gates’ visit will give a further impetus to the ongoing defence cooperation between two countries.

During his stay, Secretary Gates will be meeting the External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, the Defence Minister A K Antony, the National Security Advisor M K Narayanan and the leader of the Opposition L K Advani.

His visit to India reaffirms the importance of the Indo-US relations and the strong political support in the US for our strategic partnership. India also reiterates its interest in looking forward to broad-based defence ties with the USA. (ANI)