The News Freedom
New Delhi, November 10
India and US discussed the security challenges and threats posed by China during the Fifth Annual India-US 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue held in New Delhi on Friday. Minister of External Affairs, Dr S. Jaishankar, and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh led the Indian side at the ministerial dialogue talks while the American delegation was led by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin.
After the completion of 2+2 dialogue, US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin said, “We did discuss the security challenges and the threat posed by China during the meeting but we did not spend our entire dialogue on that matter,”.
Besides it, the joint statement said that the ministers reaffirmed their commitment to further deepen the multifaceted defense partnership through wide-ranging dialogues and military exercises of increasing complexity and sophistication, accelerated joint projects initiated under the June 2023 Roadmap for U.S.-India Defense Industrial Cooperation and expanded collaboration in emerging domains, such as space and artificial intelligence. They expressed satisfaction with the pace of cooperation in Maritime Domain Awareness and looked forward to identifying pathways to promote stronger service-to-service ties and share technologies to address an array of maritime challenges, including in the undersea domain.
The ministers reaffirmed the Roadmap for Defense Industrial Cooperation as a catalyst for strengthening India’s capabilities, enhancing its indigenous defense production, facilitating technology-sharing, and promoting supply chain resilience.
The ministers accordingly appreciated the commencement of negotiations for a commercial agreement between General Electric (GE) Aerospace and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) to manufacture GE F-414 jet engines in India. Such partnerships exemplify the type of defense industrial cooperation that the two countries look forward to pursuing as an enduring pillar of the defense partnership. Looking ahead, the ministers welcomed the progress achieved towards co-production and co-development of defense systems, noting their mutual interest to co-develop and co-produce ground mobility systems as they bring the two countries’ respective defense sectors closer together while enhancing Indian capabilities. They look forward to additional proposals from Indian and U.S. companies to develop and produce systems in the priority areas established in the Roadmap.
Both sides recommitted to spurring investment in India’s growing maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) sector, which encompasses aircraft maintenance and mid-voyage repair of U.S. naval vessels. They welcomed commitments from the U.S. industry to further increase India’s MRO capabilities, including for the repair of aircraft and unmanned aerial vehicles.
The ministers also pledged to implement commitments by Prime Minister Modi and President Biden to undertake regular efforts to address export control issues while expanding defense industrial cooperation and supporting India’s goals of emerging as a global defense hub. Both sides look forward to further discussions about export control and technology transfers in the Strategic Trade Dialogue and its affiliated working groups.
The Ministers looked forward to the finalization of a Security of Supply Arrangement (SOSA), a key priority in the Roadmap, which will further integrate the defense industrial ecosystems of both countries while strengthening supply chain resilience.
The Ministers commended the breadth of partnerships under the U.S.-India Defense Acceleration Ecosystem (INDUS-X) since the initiative was launched in June 2023. The Ministers specifically welcomed the Investors Strategy Session convened in New Delhi on November 8, 2023. The event provided an opportunity for private investors to mobilize capital for funding innovation in cutting-edge technology to address critical security needs. The Ministers further welcomed the launch of the INDUS-X Gurukul Education series to enable startups to leverage opportunities in the defense ecosystems of the United States and India. The Ministers also took note of the recent launch of the INDUS-X joint challenges initiative, which will unleash the talent and innovative drive of commercial sectors in both countries to strengthen the respective defense industry ecosystems.
The ministers lauded continuing advances in interoperability, noting that the United States and India are setting up new liaison positions to facilitate seamless communication and cooperation between their armed forces. The Ministers welcomed India’s full membership of the multinational Combined Maritime Forces (CMF), headquartered in Bahrain.
The ministers also welcomed further discussions to maximize the shared benefits of the Logistics and Exchange Memorandum Agreement (LEMOA), and identify reciprocal steps both countries can take to enhance the reach of their respective militaries.