India and the US on Thursday held the third round of discussions here to expand the scope of Defence Trade and Technology Initiative (DTTI). This pact aims at joint development and production of weapon systems and setting up manufacturing facilities in India as part of the ‘Make in India’ policy. The agreement was firmed up during President Barack Obama’s visit to New Delhi in January.
leading the US delegation, Under Secretary Frank Kendall, point man in Pentagon for DTTI held discussions with senior Defence Ministry officials including Secretary Defence Production G Mohan Kumar and others. The two delegations worked out mechanism to identify projects for joint development, officials said later.
Meanwhile, the US termed DTTI as “vehicle” for closer bilateral security ties and stressed on the need for India to sign three pending “foundational agreements.” These agreements are logistics Supoprt Agreement(lSA), Communications Interoperability and Security Memorandum of Agreement (CISMOA) and Basic Exchange and Co-Operation Agreement for Geospatial Co-Operation (BECA).