Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh is set to meet U.S. counterpart Pete Hegseth in Malaysia on Friday to ease the strain on ties from punitive U.S. tariffs, two Indian officials said, laying the ground for a possible bilateral visit.

The talks, the first between the two men and on the sidelines of the regional ASEAN defence ministers' meeting in Kuala Lumpur, are expected to include a review of India's plans to purchase military hardware from the U.S., such as six Boeing P8I aircraft for the Indian Navy, as well as a fresh India-U.S. defence cooperation framework, the officials said. "It is expected that the meeting will yield positive outcomes and pave the way for a bilateral visit, of either Hegseth to India or Singh to Washington," one of the officials said.

The officials declined

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