India has been designated as a major defence partner of the United States, this was announced in the India-US joint statement on US Secretary of Defence Ashton Carter's visit to New Delhi. <br/><br/>The designation is a status unique to India and institutionalizes the progress made to facilitate defence trade and technology sharing with India to a level at par with that of the United States' closest allies and partners, and ensures enduring cooperation in future.<br/><br/>US Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter made an official visit to India yesterday at the invitation of Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, marking the seventh interaction between the two leaders. <br/><br/>A joint statement issued in New Delhi, both leaders reviewed the progress made in bilateral defence ties and discussed the immense promise for the future of India-US security cooperation. <br/><br/>Both sides exchanged views on regional security issues including the threat posed by terrorism. They agreed to continue further strengthening the bilateral counter-terrorism cooperation and underlined the need to ensure that terror groups receive no patronage from any State.