Make In India, Asia Pacific, Technology Transfer On Table During Meeting
Make In India, Asia Pacific, Technology Transfer On Table During Meeting The meeting between US Secretary of Defence Lloyd J Austin and his Indian counterpart Defence Minister Rajnath Singh is scheduled to take place at 11 am in South Block on Saturday.
Before the meeting, the US secretary will visit the war memorial and also be given a guard of honor at 10:45 am tomorrow Reliable sources told ANI, “The Asia Pacific, Make in India, technology transfer, deepening of defence and strategic ties are the key agenda items on the table.” Rajnath and Austin are likely to issue a joint media statement after the meeting. Sections of US media are reporting that Austin may raise the issue of S-400 air defence missile systems from Russia, however, it is learned that it is not part of the formal agenda The US defence secretary who arrives this evening will be meeting National Security Advisor Ajit Doval.
During his three-day visit, the American Defence Secretary is also expected to call on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and also External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar. He is expected to meet the External Affairs Minister in the second half on Saturday.
INDIA-US SECURITY RELATIONS
In 2016, the United States designated India as a Major Defense Partner. Commensurate with this designation, in 2018, India was elevated to Strategic Trade Authorization tier 1 status, which allows India to receive license-free access to a wide range of military and dual-use technologies regulated by the Department of Commerce.
U.S.-India defense trade cooperation continues to expand with the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA), Communications, Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA), and the Industrial Security Agreement (ISA) now in place. The PM Bureau supported the increase in total defense trade with India from near zero in 2008 to over $20 billion in 2020. The PM Bureau is committed to further streamlining U.S.-India defense sales we facilitate through both the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) and Direct Commercial Sales (DCS) processes. These sales support thousands of jobs in both countries and help ensure the health of both countries’ defense industrial bases.
