With co-development and co-production of defence products in mind, India and the US on Friday agreed to take the Defence Technology and Trade Initiative forward.
The decision was taken at the delegation-level talks between defence minister Arun Jaitley and US secretary of defence Chuck Hagel, who is on a three-day visit to the country.
In the meeting, both sides took note of the progress made over the years in deepening defence ties. Both the sides reaffirmed their desire to further enhance bilateral defence cooperation, especially in technology and discussed ways for strengthening this partnership.
Stressing on indigenisation of the defence industries, Jaitley said, ?The development of our own indigenous capabilities is a major objective that guides our present policies. In this direction, we have taken steps to raise the FDI cap in the defence sector. We look forward to work closely with the US in this regard?.
The two sides also decided to take steps for the extension of the New Framework for the United States-India Defence relationship, well before it expires in July 2015.
Hagel invited Jaitley to visit the Pentagon in October during the latter?s visit to Washington to attend the annual meetings of the IMF and the World Bank, which has been accepted by Jaitley.
Apart from his meeting with Jaitley, Hagel also called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Earlier in the day, Hagel met national security advisor Ajit Doval.
During the discussions aimed at boosting defence and strategic ties, Modi expressed his desire to see further progress in defence relations, including in defence manufacturing in India, technology transfer, exercises and higher studies in the field of defence.
Modi told Hagel that he looked forward to his visit to the US ?not just as an occasion to think in terms of what we can do for each other, but also as an opportunity to see how the world’s oldest democracy and the world’s largest democracy can build a partnership for peace, stability and prosperity in the world?, according to a PMO statement.
Hagel also met external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj in the morning before she left on a four-day visit to Myanmar.
Hagel’s visit to India, his maiden trip as defence secretary, comes less than a week after that of secretary of state John Kerry and commerce secretary Penny Pritzeker. The visit comes ahead of the summit meeting in Washington between Prime Minister Modi and US President Barack Obama on September 29-30.