India, US Defence Partner pact |
Indian Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar and United States Secretary of Defence Ashton Carter have finalised India’s designation as a Major Defense Partner of the United States. The designation as a Major Defense Partner is a status unique to India and institutionalises the progress made to facilitate defence trade and technology-sharing with India to a level at par with that of the United States’ closest allies and partners, and ensures enduring cooperation into the future.During Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s trip to Washington in June, the United States had recognised India as a Major Defense Partner. The joint statement issued then had acknowledged the US-India defence relationship as a possible “anchor of stability”, with the United States saying it will “continue to work toward facilitating technology sharing with India to a level commensurate with that of its closest allies and partners”.India was seeking benefits granted to the closest allies of the US, such as Australia and the UK which the Pentagon was hesitant to concede. provisions. New Delhi had, therefore, been insisting on some institutional mechanisms to safeguard the gains made over the past two years. The passage of the India Amendment will make it obligatory for the Trump administration to adhere to these commitments.Carter’s farewell visit to India is his seventh interaction with Parrikar, and the two sides “applauded the deepened scope of India-US military-to-military ties, which includes a dramatic increase in defense trade”.
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