2 min readNew DelhiJan 27, 2015 11:06 AM IST
First published on: Jan 26, 2015 at 03:10 AM IST
US President Barack Obama shakes hands with Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar during the 66th Republic Day Celebration at Rajpath in New Delhi on Monday. (PTI Photo)
India and the US on Sunday extended for another 10 years the defence framework agreement they had reached in 2005. The two countries also identified four pathfinder projects under the Defence Trade and Technology Initiative (DTTI) that they had agreed to take ahead after Prime Minister Modi’s visit to the US in September.
Referring to the South China Sea, the joint statement called for a peaceful resolution of maritime disputes in accordance with the UN Convention on the Laws of Sea (UNCLOS), and agreed to step up infrastructure development in the region.
“Today, we have also decided to take our growing defence cooperation to a new level. We have agreed, in principle, to pursue co-development and co-production of specific advanced defence projects. This will advance defence industry and defence production in India,” Modi said in his joint address with Obama.
“In a major step forward for our relationship, defence technology and trade initiative will allow us to jointly develop and produce defence technologies,” President Obama said.
“Regional prosperity depends on security. We affirm the importance of safeguarding maritime security and ensuring freedom of navigation and over flight throughout the region, especially in the South China Sea…,” the joint statement said.
US President Barack Obama shakes hands with Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar during the 66th Republic Day Celebration at Rajpath in New Delhi on Monday. (PTI Photo)
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