New Delhi: India and the United States have drawn up a roadmap for defense industry cooperation for the next few years, the Indian government said on Monday, in a move expected to boost New Delhi’s defense manufacturing ambitions.
Washington has been working to deepen ties with the world’s largest democracy and sees deeper military-to-military and technology ties with the South Asian country as an important counterweight to China’s dominance in the region.
The roadmap was finalized in a meeting between US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh.
The agreement comes weeks before Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to visit Washington on June 22 for an official state visit and hold talks with President Joe Biden.
The Indian Defense Ministry statement said the talks between Singh and Austin had a “particular focus on identifying ways to strengthen industrial cooperation”.
“Both sides will identify opportunities for co-development of new technologies and co-production of existing and new systems and facilitate enhanced cooperation between the defense start-up ecosystems of the two countries,” the statement said.
“Towards these objectives, he laid out a roadmap for US-India defense industrial cooperation, which will guide the policy direction for the next few years.”
India, the world’s biggest arms importer, relies on Russia for about half its military supplies, but has increasingly diversified its sources to buy from the US, France and Israel.
New Delhi also wants global defense manufacturers to partner with Indian companies and produce weapons and military equipment in India for local consumption as well as for export.
(Reporting by YP Rajesh; Editing by Gareth Jones)
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