India

Defence Minister of India, Rajnath Singhconcluded his visit to the United States (23-26 August) with a visit to the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, Tennessee, built on the site where he was assassinated Martin Luther King. Singh met with representatives of the Indian community in Memphis, Atlanta, Nashville and other nearby areas, including fellow Indians who helped promote Mahatma Gandhi’s legacy, according to a press release from the Ministry of Defense in New Delhi. Singh was received by the US Secretary of Defense. Lloyd Austinon August 23 at the Pentagon and then met with the National Security Advisor, JakeSullivan.

Austin and Singh discussed defence cooperation, industrial cooperation and regional security. The Indian minister underlined the cooperation opportunities offered by his country in the sectors included in the India-US defence industrial cooperation plan adopted last year. Both expressed satisfaction with the signing of the Security of Supply Agreement (Sosa) signed in Washington on Wednesday. The agreement, according to a statement from the Indian government, “encourages the defence industrial sectors of both nations to cooperate and promote supply chain capacity”. Finally, they discussed the initiation of the Memorandum of Understanding for setting up liaison offices in their respective countries, with the Indian office to be opened at the Special Operations Command headquarters in Florida.

The two defence chiefs also spoke about the progress made in the Indo-Pacific maritime partnership and stressed India’s commitment to promote the initiative with partners in the Indian Ocean region. Also important is the mention of India’s participation in the Combined Maritime Forces (CMF), with the two ministers recalling that India will station personnel from its navy at the headquarters of CMF Task Force 150 in 2025. “Key sector initiatives” will be announced at the next Indus-X Summit in Silicon Valley in September. The bilateral meeting at the Pentagon was preceded by a ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery.

Singh and Sullivan discussed the current geopolitical situation and future opportunities for cooperation in the defense and security field. Singh also met representatives of the US defense and technology industry as part of a roundtable organized by the India-US Strategic Partnership Forum in Washington. The Indian minister stressed that India welcomes US investment and cooperation in the technology sector and can offer a skilled workforce and a conducive environment for investment and business, in addition to a large domestic market. India, the minister continued, intends to “work closely with the US in the defense sector to create a lasting technology and industrial partnership capable of addressing emerging challenges.” In addition, Singh also met with a delegation from the US-India Business Council.

The non-binding supply assurance agreement was signed by Vic Ramdass, U.S. Assistant Secretary of Defense for Industrial Policy, and Samir Kumar Sinha, Deputy Secretary and Director General for Acquisition of the Indian Ministry of Defense. As explained in a Pentagon statement, the agreement will enable the two countries to acquire the industrial resources they need to address unexpected supply chain disruptions and meet national security needs. In fact, the United States and India have committed to fulfilling each other’s priority supply requests for the procurement of critical resources for national defense. Ramdass called the agreement a “key factor” in strengthening bilateral defense relations. India is the United States’ eighteenth SASA partner, along with Australia, Canada, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, South Korea, Singapore, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom.

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