B'lore, Hyderabad to be key centres in Indo-US def tie-up: US envoy

The US today said that American companies will make Bangalore and Hyderabad "important sources" for cutting-edge technology as co-development and co-production of defence articles was the new course for collaborative partnership between the two countries.

The US also said that talks between President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Narendra Modi last month have sowed the seeds that have the potential to make US-India partnership the "defining counter-terrorism relationship for the region in the 21st century".

Talking about the way forward in Indo-US ties, AmericanAmbassador to India, Richard Verma, said that perhaps thetruest test of a friendship between countries is the degree towhich their armed forces trust and collaborate with each other.

"Ties between the US and Indian defence establishments took immense strides forward during President (Obama)'s visit," he said at a seminar at the Vivekananda International Foundation here.

Verma wondered if anyone could have imagined a few yearsback that the US and India would have agreed to establish a joint working group on aircraft carrier technology.

"No example better illustrates the new course of our collaborative relationship than the decision by the US and Indian defence establishments and private sectors to pursue co-development and co-production of defence articles," he said, adding that such type of defence collaboration was only done with the closest partners.

"The US defence industry will now make Bangalore and Hyderabad important sources for cutting-edge technology," he said.

However, he said that the three key and long-pending agreements -- CISMOA, BECA and LSA -- for greater synergy between the two militaries will continue to be on the agenda between the two countries.

Talking to reporters, Verma said that identifying four "pathfinder projects" under Defence Trade and Technology Initiative (DTTI) during Obama's visit, besides agreeing on a working group on aircraft carrier technology is a very significant and exciting moment in ties between the two militaries.

"So let's get these going. I think to the extent we canaddress other agreements that are still out there, we will continue to keep those on the agenda," he told reporters when asked if India will have to rethink its policy of not signing the three "foundational agreements" if it wants high-end technology transfer from the US and their joint production.

 Terming the Indo-US Defence Framework Agreement and the DTTI as very important development in defence ties, he said, "We are going to be focussed on that in the coming weeks and months".

During Obama's visit, the two countries had agreed on four "pathfinder projects".However, India is seeking more than just these. What India wants is co-development and co-production of high-end technology and both sides had during Obama's visit agreed on a joint working group to explore aircraft carrier technology besides designing and development of jet engine technology.

However, India and US are still not on the same page when it comes to three key pacts, often referred to as "foundational agreements" for greater defence technology cooperation.

The three agreements have been pending for over five years and the US has been pushing for bringing them into force.

Off the three, two agreements -- the Communications Interoperability and Security Memorandum of Agreement (CISMOA) and Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement for Geospatial Cooperation (BECA) -- enhances the capacity of military equipment already bought from the US.

The third agreement, the Logistics Support Agreement (LSA) would enable cashless supplies to each other's armed forces on credit.

Verma also spoke about counter-terrorism cooperation and said the talks between Obama and Modi have sowed the seeds that have the potential to make the US-India partnership the "defining counter-terrorism relationship for the region in the 21st century".

He said one focus can be on expanding the sharing of terrorism-related information in areas where interests of both countries converge.

The Ambassador noted that since 9/11, the US and international community have made significant progress in developing the use of sanctions as a tool for targeting terrorists and their networks.

While past efforts are important, there is untapped potential for the US and India to work together on new counter -terrorism designations, including in the UN, he said.

"Working together in this area and others, we can help achieve our leaders' vision of deepening collaboration to combat the full spectrum of terrorist threats," he said.