In a step forward to enhance co-development and co-production of weapon systems, India and the US on Friday decided to take Defence Technology and Trade Initiative (DTTI) forward and nominated officials from two countries as contact persons. The DTTI was inked between the two countries last year to explore ways to Defence industry partnership and give a boost to Indian industry.
Defence Minister Arun Jaitley and visiting US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel reviewed the progress of DTTI here at delegation level talks and nominated Secretary Department of Defence Production from the Indian side and Under Secretary for acquisition, technology and licensing, Frank Kendall from the US as contact persons.
The two officials will meet regularly to iron out hurdles in jointly designing and manufacturing weapon systems. So far, India has this kind of an agreement only with Russia and the US for the last few years was keen to have a similar pact given the growing market for defence products in India.
The push for India-US partnership in defence industry at the political level comes at a time when New Delhi is poised to spend more than 30 billion dollars over the next five to eight years for procuring state-of-the-art weapons.
Moreover, India has opened up the defence sector for more private participation and increased FDI from 27 per cent to 49 per cent earlier this week. However, India is determined to do away with ‘buyer-seller relationship’ and go in for joint development of weapons to save precious foreign exchange and expand its defence industrial base.
The two leaders also decided to start the process of extending the overarching agreement named the New Framework for the India-US Defence Relationship. This pact covering all aspects of defence ties including DTTI, joint military exercises and training of military personnel was signed in 2005 for a period of ten years. Jaitley and Hagel discussed steps to renew the pact for another decade in the coming months, officials said.
They said the two Minister took note of the progress made over the years in deepening defence ties and reaffirmed their desire to further enhance bilateral defence cooperation, especially in technology and discussed ways for strengthening this partnership.
Stressing on faster indigenisation of the defence industries, Jaitley said, “The development of our own indigenous capabilities is a major objective that guides our present policies. In this direction, we have taken steps to raise the FDI cap in the defence sector. We look forward to work closely with the US in this regard.”
The two delegations also held talks on the entire range of bilateral defence relations besides terrorism and global and regional security situation. Hagel invited Jaitley to visit the Pentagon, the Headquarters of the United States Department of Defence, in October during the latter’s visit to Washington DC to attend the annual meetings of the IMF and the World Bank. Jaitley has accepted the invitation.
Apart from meeting Jaitley, Hagel, who is here on a three-day visit starting Thursday, also called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval.
Modi voices concern over Iraq as Hagel meets him
New Delhi: Voicing concern over deteriorating situation in Iraq and its potential implications for the region where India has vital stakes, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he looked forward to his Summit meeting with President Barack Obama to discuss how India and the US can build a partnership for peace, stability and prosperity in the world.Modi conveyed this to Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel who called on him here. During the meeting, the Prime Minister was briefed on the announcements made by President Barack Obama on the steps the US plans to deal with the situation in Iraq.On the bilateral front, the PM welcomed the sustained high-level engagement by the US with the new Government here. Modi underlined the importance of defence relations in the overall strategic partnership between the two countries and indicated his desire to see further progress in defence relations, including in defence manufacturing in India, technology transfer, exercises and higher studies in the field of defence. PNS