Rajnath Singh's US visit: Expediting India-US defence partnership

Amidst a puzzling geopolitical landscape, Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh's official visit to the US from August 23 to 26 came at a pivotal juncture and increased bilateral proximity and coordination on mutual strategic interests with the US.

- ARAUDRA SINGH

The meetings between Defense Minister Singh and his American counterpart Lloyd Austin and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan were also emblematic of Washington's recognition of New Delhi's growing strategic role across the Indo-Pacific, in addition to evolving defence partnership.

AGENDA AND IMPLICATIONS OF THE VISIT

At the top of the agenda of Singh's official engagement was expeditious advancement in defence and security cooperation.

The high-level engagement emphasized on swift fruition of key defence deals and initiation of co-production ventures, including procurement of 31 MQ-9B Predator drones, joint development of Stryker infantry combat vehicles, and the GE F414 engines in India.

Moreover, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) and the US Department of Defence (DOD) signed bilateral Security of Supply Arrangement (SOSA) and Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) regarding the Assignment of Liaison Officers.

The conclusion of the SOSA was amongst the highlights, through which India and the US have agreed to provide reciprocal priority supply of goods and services that promote national security. In the event of unanticipated supply chain disruptions, both partners have committed to support one another's priority delivery requests for critical defence resources. While the U.S. will provide India assurances under the U.S.

Defense Priorities and Allocations System (DPAS), India will in turn establish a government-industry Code of Conduct with its industrial base, where Indian firms will voluntarily agree to make requisite effort to provide the U.S.