US, India have established strong defence industrial cooperation: US State Dept

WASHINGTON: The United States and India have established a strong defence industrial cooperation that looks at opportunities for the co-development and co-production of important military capabilities for both countries, as per a US State Department fact sheet released on Thursday (US local time).

Earlier in 2023, the US approved a pathbreaking manufacturing licence for the co-production of GE F414 engines in India.

The United States and India launched an educational series that prepares startups and young innovators to contribute to the defence industries in both countries.

The United States and India also cooperate through the bilateral US-India Counterterrorism Joint Working Group and the Defence Policy Group, as per the fact sheet.

The two countries have a common vision to deploy clean energy at scale, as reflected in both countries' ambitious 2030 targets for climate action and clean energy.

"We are exploring avenues to increase our mineral security cooperation to ensure that we can advance our clean energy goals, including through the Minerals Security Partnership," the US State Department said. In August 2023, the India-United States New and Emerging Renewable Energy Technologies Action Platform (RE-TAP) held its inaugural meeting. "Under this platform, our two countries will engage in lab-to-lab collaboration, piloting and testing, and policy and planning coordination for renewable energy technologies and systems," as per the US State Department factsheet.

The United States and India also collaborate through the Strategic Clean Energy Partnership and the Climate Action and Finance Mobilisation Dialogue. With India's signing of the Artemis Accords in June, "we have established a common vision for the future of space exploration for the benefit of all humankind."

"Our priorities include furthering cooperation on human spaceflight, commercial collaboration, and space exploration. We look forward to NASA's provision of advanced training to Indian astronauts at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, with a goal of mounting a joint effort to the International Space Station in 2024."

The US State Department said India, and the US cooperate closely in multilateral organizations and fora, including the United Nations, G20, Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-related fora, International Monetary Fund, World Bank, and World Trade Organization.

"The vibrant people-to-people ties between our countries are a tremendous source of strength for the strategic partnership."

"We welcome over 200,000 Indian nationals studying in our universities and are developing new higher education partnerships as part of a bilateral working group."

"The Indian diaspora community of over 4 million in the United States is an important driver of collaboration, innovation, and job creation in both countries," the fact sheet said.