US embassy in India to have its first female defence attache

WASHINGTON: The US embassy in India is all set to have its first female defence attache with the appointment of Brig Gen Robin L Fontes.

Fontes from the Defence Intelligence Agency was recently appointed to the key position.

She would be the first female attache assigned to India and the first general officer to serve as an attache in India since the 1960s, the Defence Intelligence Agency said today.

"[India] is a very important country to [the United States] in the Pacific region. Developing good relations with India...is key to meeting our national security objectives," said Fontes.

"Demonstrating to them how important this relationship is has meant putting a general officer there," she said.

During her tour, Fontes will serve as the primary military adviser to the US Ambassador to India and function as the Department of Defence's representative to India.

"It's always a privilege to be able to serve and certainly in an important place such as India is so I look forward to the opportunity to do that and the opportunity to experience a new culture," she said.