Comments
The US has asked India to “expedite” the talks on concluding two foundational defence agreements in an effort to strengthen military ties between both countries even as American aero-defence firms are eyeing the Indian market to make huge investments under the ‘Make in India’ programme.
The issue was discussed during a telephonic conversation between the new US Secretary of Defence James Mattis and Minister of Defence Manohar Parrikar that took place late Wednesday evening, sources told BusinessLine.
US has been asking India to complete the ongoing negotiations on concluding the two foundational pacts, out of which one has already been signed. These two pacts are Communication and Information Security Memorandum of Agreement (CISMOA) and Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement (BECA).
So far India has signed only one of out of the three American defence foundational agreements.
It is called the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA), which is a tweaked version of the Logistics Services Agreement (LSA). This was signed in 2016 and it stipulates exchange of logistics support and supplies.
However, the LEMOA is yet to be implemented by India, which is causing concern in the US, according to sources.
“It will be helpful if India and US are able to sign all three foundational agreements otherwise it makes things more challenging. So the overall feeling is progress should be made in the foundational pacts,” said Benjamin Schwartz, Director for Aerospace and Defense, US-India Business Council (USIBC).
The phone-call between both defence heads also assumes significance as it happened just days before the ‘Aero India’ show starts in Bengaluru from February 14-18 in which American defence firms are participating in large numbers, especially the jet makers Boeing and Lockheed Martin, which are eyeing to sell their fighter planes to the Indian Air Force.
India was also seeking an assurance from the US that it plans to continue with the defence deals that were being discussed with the previous Obama administration.
“In their first conversation, Secretary Mattis committed to build upon the tremendous progress in bilateral defence cooperation made in recent years, underscoring the strategic importance of the US-India relationship and India’s role in advancing global peace and security,” said the Pentagon Press Secretary Jeff Davis.
Defence exports from US to India have already reached $15 billion.
US has recently made the required changes in its export control laws for easier transfer of technology and defence equipment between both countries thereby recognising India as a ‘Major Defence Partner’.
Comments
COMMENT NOW
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.