Hagel discusses Indo-US defence ties in Delhi
10 Aug 2014 5:16 AM IST
US secretary of defence, Charles Hagel had told the international media before arriving here for his round of meetings that he was visiting India to get acquainted with the new leadership and also ‘following up’ on the visit of John Kerry, the US secretary of state. He certainly did that task with a hectic round of meetings with first the external affairs minister, Sushma Swaraj and later prime minister Narendra Modi.
His last meeting of the day was with the defence minister, Arun Jaitley.
Considering that the relations between the two countries at the defence level had got leg up through the 1990s and the early part of first decade of this millennium – punctuated by the Next Steps in Strategic Partnership signed in 2005 by then US defence secretary, Donald Rumsfeld and Indian defence minister, Pranab Mukherjee — the defence relations between the two countries promised much.
That agreement is scheduled to expire in 2014 and is up for renewal in 2015. But there were no indications on Friday that it was on the agenda of the three high powered meetings Hagel had in the city.
The main point discussed between the two defence leaderships was the progress of the latest idea defence-related commerce now given a nomenclature under a new joint initiative called the Defence Technology and Trade Initiative (DTTI) that would supposedly foster ‘co-development’ and ‘co-production’ of ‘defence products’ by the two countries.
Jaitley, the defence minister identified that the secretary, defence production in the ministry of defence will be the nodal point of the Indian side for undertaking discussions and actions, while Hagel, the US defence secretary designated Frank Kendell, the undersecretary for acquisition, technology and licencing in the US department of defence will be the American representative.
The defence minister reportedly said in the meeting that, ‘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.’
His last meeting of the day was with the defence minister, Arun Jaitley.
Considering that the relations between the two countries at the defence level had got leg up through the 1990s and the early part of first decade of this millennium – punctuated by the Next Steps in Strategic Partnership signed in 2005 by then US defence secretary, Donald Rumsfeld and Indian defence minister, Pranab Mukherjee — the defence relations between the two countries promised much.
That agreement is scheduled to expire in 2014 and is up for renewal in 2015. But there were no indications on Friday that it was on the agenda of the three high powered meetings Hagel had in the city.
The main point discussed between the two defence leaderships was the progress of the latest idea defence-related commerce now given a nomenclature under a new joint initiative called the Defence Technology and Trade Initiative (DTTI) that would supposedly foster ‘co-development’ and ‘co-production’ of ‘defence products’ by the two countries.
Jaitley, the defence minister identified that the secretary, defence production in the ministry of defence will be the nodal point of the Indian side for undertaking discussions and actions, while Hagel, the US defence secretary designated Frank Kendell, the undersecretary for acquisition, technology and licencing in the US department of defence will be the American representative.
The defence minister reportedly said in the meeting that, ‘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.’
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