New Delhi: Making India a key destination of his first foreign foray in the second stint of the Bush Administration, US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld today (Dec 9, 2004) indicated that the two countries were ready to transform the relations into practical steps by saying that Washington wanted the Defence ties to be further "knitted" together.

"We had excellent discussions and we discussed all kinds of things that are important for our two ministries," he said at a joint press briefing along with Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee after 90-minute meeting.

"We intend to see these ties further knitted together in coming months and years," the US Defence Secretary said in the backdrop of External Affairs Minister K Natwar Singh's warning that supply of American arms to Pakistan could have a negative impact when the Indo-Pak talks were at a "sensitive stage".

While both Rumsfeld and Mukherjee refused to take any questions, the US Defence Secretary expressed his "conviction" that the two countries needed to develop "stronger cooperative relations" which has emerged during the last four years.

He cited numerous Defence interactions, joint military exercises and exchanges as an indication of growing relations.

Mukherjee said that the two had "useful discussions of mutual interest".