Trump, Modi to discuss defence ties during G20 summit

NEW DELHI: United States President Donald Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will meet at the G20 summit in Japan next month. Besides other important issues they will also talk on boosting defence cooperation on the sidelines of the summit slated for June 28 and 29, international media reported. The US and India have made enormous strides together which include the expansion of bilateral defence cooperation and combined military exercises, the historic civil nuclear deal, the nearly six-fold increase in US-India trade, the Defence Technology and Trade Initiative and the designation of India as a Major Defence Partner. Two key US officials will be in India this month with the aim of deepening the India-US relationship as Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his cabinet settle down to business in the National Democratic Alliance government’s second term in office. The first to arrive has been US Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs R. Clarke Cooper who landed late Wednesday. He is in New Delhi on a trip aimed at pushing big ticket defence sales – especially for the $15 billion fighter jet for which India had requested for information from international vendors. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will also be visiting New Delhi on 25-26 June to prepare for the meeting between Donald Trump and Modi in Osaka.

A measure of the close ties between the two countries is the fact that defence purchases by India from US companies has grown to $16-18 billion in less than two decades. The two countries have more than 30 dialogues spanning health, education, defence and strategic affairs.

High on Cooper’s agenda will be pushing for the sale of US military aircraft to India. Washington is keen to sell its F-16 Fighter Falcons or F-21 manufactured by Lockheed Martin or the F/A-18 Super Hornet produced by Boeing.