In what would be their first meeting since India’s designation as a “Major Defence Partner” of the United States in June, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar will hold consultations with his American counterpart, Ashton Carter, at the Pentagon on Monday.
It will otherwise be the sixth meeting that the two leaders will be holding over the past year and a half, pointing to the deepening high-level defence engagement between the two countries.
Carter will host an “enhanced honour cordon” to welcome Parrikar to the Pentagon before proceeding with bilateral discussions. It remains to be seen if the two sides sign the logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (lEMOA) at this meeting. Finalisation of the text of this agreement was announced during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s last US visit in June.
The India-US Joint Statement, issued on conclusion of the Prime Minister’s talks with President Barack Obama in June, contained the US announcement recognizing India as a “Major Defence Partner”, adding that Washington will “continue to work toward facilitating technology sharing with India to a level commensurate with that of its closest allies and partners”.
The statement also noted that the two leaders had “reached an understanding under which India would receive licence-free access to a wide range of dual-use technologies in conjunction with steps that India has committed to take to advance its export control objectives”. later that month, India officially joined the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR).
India has been keen to acquire armed drones from the United States and the matter is expected to come up at Parrikar’s meeting with Carter.