India-US defence partnership has emerged as pillar of global peace and security: Secretary Defence Production

In his address at the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF) India Leadership Summit, Kumar called India and US "formidable democratic forces" which can work for peace, prosperity and stability in the world. He recalled Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh's visit to the US in August this year, where he called the two nations "natural allies."

Speaking about India-US defence partnership, he said, "India and US together are formidable democratic forces which can effectively work for peace, prosperity and stability in the world. Our honorable Raksha Mantri visited US in August 2024 and described India and US as natural allies, which are destined to be strong partners and this collaboration is going continuously, improving continuously."

He further said, "India-US major defence partnership has emerged as a pillar of global peace and security through joint exercises, the strengthening of defence industrial cooperation, annual 2+2 minsterial dialogues and other consultative mechanisms. We have made significant progress in building an advanced and comprehensive defense partnership in which our militaries coordinate closely across all domains. The launch of dialogues in new defence domains, including space and AI, will enhance capacity building, knowledge and expertise sharing in these emerging areas."

He stressed that the defence ties between two nations is eminently visible with India being accorded strategic trade authorization (STA-1) status and designation as a major defence partner. He noted that many US companies in aerospace and defence are having significant presence in the manufacturing sector.

"The strength of US-India defence relationship is eminently visible, with India being accorded Strategic Trade Authorization (STA-1) status and designation as a major defence partner. Successful completion of the communications compatibility and security agreement, commonly known as COMCASA, and signing of the Industrial Security Annex, these are other important milestones that reflect the commitment from both the countries. We have also recently concluded the Security of Supplies Agreement (SOSA), which will support the resilient supply chain and allow participation of industries of the both countries in the supply chain of respective countries," he said.

India is the 18th SOSA partner of the US after Australia, Canada, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Republic of Korea, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.

Through this SOSA, the United States and India agree to provide reciprocal priority support for goods and services that promote national defence, according to US Department of Defence statement. The arrangement will enable both countries to acquire the industrial resources they need from one another to resolve unanticipated supply chain disruptions to meet national security needs, the statement said.

Signed in 2018, COMCASA enables India access advanced US defence systems. The pact was signed following the inaugural 2+2 Dialogue between then-US Defence Secretary James N Mattis, then-Secretary of State Michael Pompeo, then-Minister for External Affairs Sushma Swaraj and then-Union Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

Kumar stated that the interaction between the business of India and the US is increasing in defence and aerospace sectors, both in terms of numbers and volume of the trade.

Emphasising the growing cooperation between two nations in defence and aerospace sector, he said, "It is heartening to see that many US companies in aerospace and defence are having significant presence in India. In the area of vital manufacturing fields, interaction between the business of both the nation is also increasing in defence and aerospace segment, both in terms of numbers and also volume of the trade."

"Landmark signing of an MoU between General Electric and Hindustan Aeronautical Limited for the manufacture of GE 414 jet engine in India is a key milestone. Our nation's desires to accelerate defence industrial cooperation lead to adoption of a defense industrial cooperation roadmap, which will provide policy direction to defense industries and enable co-production of advanced defence systems and collaborative research, testing and prototyping of projects. Initiative on critical and emerging technologies (ICET) will further support sharing of core technologies, collaboration in futuristic technologies and fostering deeper cooperation in critical field," he further said.

Earlier in 2023, GE Aerospace signed an MoU with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) to produce fighter jet engines for the Indian Air Force. The agreement includes the potential joint production of GE Aerospace's F414 engines in India.

The Defence official stated that the two nations have formed US-India defence technology and trade initiative group, which seek to "elevate US India, defense trade from a traditional buyer seller dynamic to one of co-production and co-development partners."

Kumar noted that USISPF India Leadership Summit 2024 offers a vital platform to strengthen the dynamic strategic partnership between two nations. He emphasised the "fairly well-established ecosystem" for the startup and niche technology providers in defence sectors. He said that the industries of two nations can collaborate in adoption of the technologies and sharing of domain knowledge.

Speaking about the ecosytem in India for the startup and niche technology providers, he said, "India has now created a fairly well established ecosystem for the startup and niche technology providers in defence and aerospace sector. A number of industries, including MSMEs and startup R&D units, are now getting involved to provide solution to the defence needs. The industries of both the nations can collaborate in adoption of the technologies and sharing of domain knowledge, which not only boost defence manufacturing, but will also create job opportunities and establish resilient supply chains."

Calling on US defence companies to manufacture in India, he said, "We invite you to invest in defence aerospace, apart from various other sectors such as healthcare and infrastructure. We have raised the FDI cap for investment in defence sector to 74 per cent. India has also established two defense corridor, one in UP and another in Tamil Nadu to encourage production of defence equipment and platforms. I would like to invite US defence companies to take advantage of India's industry investor friendly climate and start manufacturing in India."

The US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF) aims to create a powerful partnership between the United States and India. As the only independent not-for-profit institution dedicated to strengthening the US-India partnership. (ANI)