The two sides also exchanged notes on developments in the Indo-Pacific and the region
- India and the U.S. reviewed the progress on finalising two key agreements during the 2+2 intercession meeting, apart from taking stock of the overall defence cooperation.
- The agreements are the Industrial Security Annex (ISA) and the Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement for Geo-spatial Cooperation (BECA), a foundational agreement.
- The inaugural 2+2 dialogue was held last September and was chaired by the Defence and External Affairs Ministers and their U.S. counterparts.
- The third foundational agreement, Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement, was signed on the sidelines.
- As the next step in furthering defence cooperation, negotiations are on to conclude the ISA and BECA.
Greater role
- The ISA is particularly essential as the Indian industry looks for a greater role in defence manufacturing.
- ISA allows sharing of classified information from the U.S. government and American companies with the Indian private sector, which is so far limited to the Indian government and the defence public sector undertakings.
- The next 2+2 dialogue will take place this summer, by which time India will have a new government.
Comments (0)