In an effort to further strengthen defence ties, India and US have inked two major agreements - Security of Supplies Arrangement (SOSA) and Memorandum of Agreement regarding the Assignment of Liaison Officers, Defence Ministry said in New Delhi on Friday.
These pacts were signed coinciding with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh’s arrival on a four-day visit to Washington late Thursday.
During his visit, Rajnath will hold a bilateral meeting with US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin. He will also meet the US Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs Jake Sullivan, defence Ministry said. In addition, he will chair a high-level round-table meeting with the US defence industry on the ongoing and future defence collaborations. The visit is expected to further deepen and broaden the India-US Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership, officials said.
The agreements signed on Thursday pertain to the Security of Supplies Arrangement (SOSA) and a Memorandum of Agreement regarding the Assignment of Liaison Officers.
“Two important documents have been signed in Washington DC as Raksha Mantri Shri @rajnathsingh’s visit to the United States begins. Senior Defence officials from both sides concluded the Security of Supplies Arrangement (SOSA), and Memorandum of Agreement regarding the Assignment of Liaison Officers,” Defence Ministry said in a social media post.
The US and India entered into a “bilateral, non-binding Security of Supply Arrangement (SOSA)”, the US Department of Defence (DoD) said in a press release on Thursday.
Through this SOSA, the US and India agree to provide reciprocal priority support for goods and services that promote National defence. The Arrangement will enable both countries to acquire the industrial resources they need from one another to resolve unanticipated supply chain disruptions to meet national security needs, it said.
The SOSA was signed by Dr Vic Ramdass, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defence for Industrial Base Policy, on behalf of the US, and Samir Kumar Sinha, Additional Secretary and Director General (Acquisitions), on behalf of the Ministry of Defence (MoD).
“This Security of Supply Arrangement represents a pivotal moment in the US-India Major Defence Partner relationship and will be a key factor in strengthening the US-India Defence Technology and Trade Initiative (DTTI),” said Ramdass.
“I look forward to OUSD(A&S) hosting the next DTTI meeting this fall to deepen cooperation between our respective defence industrial bases and pursue bilateral co-development, co-production, and co-sustainment initiatives,” he said. In the Arrangement, the US and India commit to support one another’s priority delivery requests for procurement of critical national defence resources.
The US will provide India assurances under the US Defence Priorities and Allocations System (DPAS), with programme determinations by DoD and rating authorisation by the Department of Commerce (DOC).
India will in turn establish a Government-industry Code of Conduct with its industrial base, where Indian firms will voluntarily agree to make every reasonable effort to provide the US priority support, the release said.
With an expanding global supply chain for DOD, SOSAs are an important mechanism for DoD to strengthen interoperability with US defence trade partners.
The Arrangements institute working groups, establish communication mechanisms, streamline DoD processes, and proactively act to allay anticipated supply chain issues in peacetime, emergency, and armed conflict.
They are also a useful tool in developing investment strategies to ensure redundancy and security, it said. India is the 18th SOSA partner of the US. Other SOSA partners include Australia, Canada, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, and the UK.
Meanwhile, Rajnath said India and US, together, are a formidable force which can ensure peace, prosperity and stability in the world. He made this assertion while interacting with the Indian diaspora after landing in Washington. He described India and US as natural allies, which are destined to be strong partners, and this collaboration is growing continuously.
Rajnath re-asserted the fact that under the dynamic leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India’s stature has grown on the global stage.
“Earlier, India’s words at international fora were not heeded; but today, the whole world listens carefully,” he said. Rajnath pointed out that before 2014, India was among the ‘Fragile Five’ nations, as coined by investment firm Morgan Stanley, and today it finds itself among the ‘Fabulous Five’ economies of the world.
He cited the firm’s recent report, which says that India will become the third largest economy by 2027.
He stressed that the Government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic ensured that the Indian economy was not adversly impacted as compared to other countries.
The defence minister highlighted the fact that the government has successfully brought 25 crore people above poverty line. He added that as per latest data, retail inflation fell to a five-year low of 3.54% and foreign exchange reserves have reached an all-time high of $675 billion.
He enumerated the steps taken by the Government to achieve ‘Aatmanirbharta’ in defence, including the notification of Positive Indigenisation Lists comprising over 5,000 items. He emphasised that the consistent efforts are being made to ensure that state-of-the-art defence items are manufactured on Indian soil by domestic companies. Rajnath acknowledged the fact that the defence exports, which were Rs 600 crore before the current Government came to power, have now risen significantly to over Rs 21,000 crore.
