BENGALURU: The size of this year’s US delegation to Aero India is one of the biggest ever. “The size of the US delegation is impressive and the growing diplomatic and security cooperation over the last year show that the US-India strategic partnership is one of our most consequential relationships,” said the head of the US delegation to Aero India, Chargé d’Affaires, Ambassador A Elizabeth Jones here on Sunday.
Jones said that as partners, both the countries are strengthening cooperation on critical technologies, from space components to semiconductors. “As partners, we are working together to address climate change; improve global health and prepare for new pandemics; cooperate on cyber challenges; build quality infrastructure; and ensure sustainable supply chains,” she added.
She also pointed out that two weeks ago, India’s National Security Adviser Ajit Doval had met his counterpart at the White House to launch the initiative on critical and emerging technologies where they pledged to accelerate joint development and production through a bilateral defence industrial cooperation roadmap.
She mentioned that Saturday was the first anniversary of President Biden’s Indo Pacific strategy that underpins India and the US’ crucial partnership “to ensure a free and open prosperous, connected, rules based and resilient Indo Pacific region where both the democracies can thrive.” The US diplomat said that she will open the USA Partnership Pavilion at Aero India on Monday.
US Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defence for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs, Jedidiah P Royal, said that a free and open Indo-Pacific region requires a strong and militarily capable India and the US is excited to partner with India promoting this shared vision for the future.
He added that the Biden-Harris administration is “focussed on putting maximum effort into bolstering India’s military capabilities and rise as a defence industrial power.” Royal said that the US companies have established engineering centres and manufacturing hubs, and have also invested in building R&D centres that harness India’s talented scientists and engineers to advance cutting edge R&D projects.
“The US accounts for one of the largest destinations for Indian defence exports in aerospace and defence products. In the last five years alone, US investments in India had generated roughly a quarter of India’s defence exports,” he added. “India has the largest C-17 fleet outside the US, which was extensively used for providing critical aid and supplies as part of ‘Operation Dost’ for the earthquake relief effort in Turkey and Syria,” said Assistant Deputy Undersecretary of the US Air Force, International Affairs, Major General Julian Cheater.
“Under the US-India Defense Technology and Trade Initiative (DTTI), we signed the first ever UAV co-development project agreement in September, 2021. This was the largest research and development effort between our two militaries,” said Major General Cheater.