India-US to deepen cooperation in top defence technologies

National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval and US secretary of defence Lloyd Austin met in New Delhi on Monday and exchanged ideas on several issues of mutual interest. The two leaders highlighted the cooperation in specific niche technologies in maritime, military, and aerospace domains to boost capabilities.

The two also discussed the greater transfer of technology, to India from the US, co-production, and building indigenous capacities between the two nations in line with India’s Make in India and Aatmanirbhar Bharat initiatives.

Another point of discussion between them was ensuring that countries in different regions - Middle East, South Asia and South East Asia and Indo-Pacific retain their freedom of action in line with their national priorities and are not coerced into poor choices.

During the meeting, Doval and Austin maintained India and the US focus on trusted sources of supply, resilient supply chains, and greater industry-to-industry partnerships. They decided to take a strategic approach to global challenges through whole government efforts including through people-to-people and societal relations.

The US defence secretary, who is on a two-day tour to New Delhi, also held wide-ranging talks with his Indian counterpart Rajnath Singh.

At a media briefing, Austin said India and the US have decided to establish an ambitious roadmap for defence-industrial cooperation. He also described the India-US global strategic partnership as the "cornerstone" of a free and open Indo-Pacific.

“Our partnership is continuing to grow rapidly and we are looking at expanding the defence industrial cooperation,” Austin said.

The US Defence Secretary arrived in New Delhi on Sunday, ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's state visit to Washington.