Rajnath Singh gets enhanced honour cordon at Pentagon

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh was provided an enhanced honour cordon at the Pentagon, as he arrived at America’s Defence Department headquarters for bilateral talks with his American counterpart Lloyd Austin on Monday.

Singh, along with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, arrived in the US capital on Sunday to attend the India-US 2+2 ministerial dialogue in Washington on Monday, the first of the Biden Administration, being hosted by Secretary of State Tony Blinken and Austin.

Following the enhanced honour cordon on the steps of the Pentagon at its historic River Side entrance, Austin and Singh walked inside the building for the talks, where the two leaders discussed bilateral defence engagement, trade, Indo-Pacific and the global situation in the backdrop of the Ukrainian conflict.

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The enhanced honour is reserved for valued guests and visitors. During normal honour cordon, visitors are greeted at the Pentagon stairs and welcomed with handshakes, before proceeding inside the building. During the enhanced honour cordon, national anthems are played.

(With inputs from Agencies)