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By: Aaron Mehta
WASHINGTON -- As a sign of tightening bonds between the US and Indian militaries, the Indian defense minister this week will sit down with the top defense technology minds from both inside and outside the Pentagon.
Manohar Parrikar is in the US for a three day visit, starting with Monday’s meeting with his US counterpart, Secretary of Defense Ash Carter, and in comments Monday made it clear he intends to come away from his visit having increased ties between the US defense industry and that of his home country.
On Tuesday, Parrikar will have a sit down with top US industrial companies, and in comments to the press Monday, the minister was not shy about his goal to “encourage” future tie-ups between US and Indian defense firms.
“I wish to invite US industry, including the defense industry, to be part of this new journey of hope and transformation in India,” the minister said.
Tuesday's meeting is organized by the US-India Business Council, part of the US Chamber of Commerce. Ben Schwartz, the Council's Director for Defense and Aerospace, told Defense News that 20-25 companies will be attending, including Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Textron.
Parrikar likely won’t need a hard sell, with US firms having eyed a greater share of the Indian market for most of the past 15 years. But after continuous delays on a number of high-profile military industrial projects, including for the right to provide India with a new fleet of high-end fighter aircraft, there is hope that the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be able to finally push through new defense agreements.
Read the full story at DefenseNews