SPECIAL REPORT
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Full Steam Ahead
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From arms control to cyber defence, India and the US explore avenues of cooperation
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US secretary of state Hillary Clinton with foreign minister S.M. Krishna
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By Dilip Kumar Mekala
Reflecting on the expansion and growth of the bilateral relationship, India’s external affairs minister S. M. Krishna met US secretary of State Hilary Clinton on June 13, for the third annual US-India Strategic dialogue. Both countries have extended their support and cooperation in a range of critical areas including defence cooperation, Afghan security, counter terrorism, homeland and border security, cyber security, counter-piracy and maritime security.
In recent years, the government of India has awarded defence contracts worth 9 billion USD to
American companies. The US also participated in 56 cooperative events across services with India, |
including joint military exercises like Malabar, Shatrujeet and Yudh Abhyas
exercises. “Secretary Clinton and Minister Krishna expressed satisfaction with
the progress in defence relations, which is an important dimension of their
strategic partnership”, the joint statement said. Both sides have also expressed
their desire to strengthen defence cooperation through increased technology
transfer, collaborative joint research and development and co-production of
defence items. They also welcomed the progress made in the Defence Policy Group
(DPG) and the resumption of the Political Military consultations between the two
sides.
Focussing on the importance of sustained commitment towards Afghanistan Secretary Clinton said, “Both the United States and India have signed strategic partnership agreements with Afghanistan to demonstrate our enduring commitment, and today we agreed to move forward with a formal trilateral consultation among our three nations”.
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