An official website of the United States Government 
Here's how you know

Official websites use .gov

.gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS

A lock ( lock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

You have accessed part of a historical collection on defense.gov. Some of the information contained within may be outdated and links may not function. Please contact the DOD Webmaster with any questions.

Remarks by Secretary Mattis and Indian National Security Adviser Doval at the Pentagon

SECRETARY OF DEFENSE JIM MATTIS:  Mr. Doval, ambassador and Indian delegation, welcome to the Pentagon.  We're delighted to have you here.  Democracies like ours need this sort of dialogue and we have had a strengthening of the relationship over the last several years.  

And no relationship stays the same.  They either decline or they get better, they get stronger.  And our intent here today is to continue to strengthen the relationship and to make certain that it gets stronger every year between two democracies that have many common interests, many common security challenges.  And we're eager to listen and to learn about each other and show mutual benefit and mutual respect for the relationship that we have between our militaries.  

So, in your role as the national security adviser, Mr. Doval, your ideas are welcome here and welcome you and your delegation.  If you wish to say a few words with the press still in the room, and then we'll ask them to leave after you've spoken.

NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER AJIT DOVAL:  Thank you very much.  

(UNTRANSLATED)  

A very great privilege for me to be here.  I'm very grateful to you for having -- (inaudible) -- very valuable time, you're a very busy person.  And I'm grateful to you and your delegation for receiving me and my delegation here.

We have a very special relationship, and this relationship is something that we very highly value and would like to -- (inaudible) -- the relationship start to move -- (inaudible).  So, if you want that relationships -- (inaudible) -- we should keep on having an incremental improvement and find out in what ways we can -- (inaudible) -- the world more safe, more -- (inaudible) -- more peaceful.

We share the values.  We share the democracy.  We all have the very common objective and interest both for the region that I come from and also globally that's able to work together, share our ideas and thoughts and bring about some new innovative changes and improvements that could really serve the purpose or the objectives -- (inaudible).

Our core values of states are very similar -- (inaudible).  We're very happy that in recent years, there have been substantial -- (inaudible) -- relationship with the new administration here and are very hopeful that it -- (inaudible).

Thank you very much for receiving me and my delegation.

SEC. MATTIS:  Certainly, Mr. Doval.  Thank you again.  And thank you very much.