Modi In US: In a much expected move, the United States Thursday offered to sell the F-35 fighter jets produced by Lockheed Martin to India for the Indian Air Force. The US under President Donald Trump also expressed its interest to offer its undersea defence platforms to New Delhi during his first bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi even as both sides also decided to conclude the talks for a multi-sector Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) by the fall of 2025.
This comes even as the US F-35 jets are flying in the Indian skies as they are participating in the Aero India 2025 underway in Bengaluru.
India will also be procuring six additional P-8I Maritime Patrol aircraft to enhance India’s maritime surveillance reach in the Indian Ocean Region following agreement on sale terms, said a joint statement issued after the meeting between Trump and Modi.
“The leaders also called for opening negotiations this year for a Reciprocal Defence Procurement (RDP) agreement to better align their procurement systems and enable the reciprocal supply of defence goods and services,” the joint statement said.
It also said: “The leaders pledged to accelerate defence technology cooperation across space, air defence, missile, maritime and undersea technologies, with the U.S. announcing a review of its policy on releasing fifth generation fighters and undersea systems to India.”
At present, US-origin defence items in India's inventory includes C‑130J Super Hercules, C‑17 Globemaster III, P‑8I Poseidon aircraft, CH‑47F Chinooks, MH‑60R Seahawks, and AH‑64E Apaches, Harpoon anti-ship missiles, M777 howitzers and MQ‑9B reaper drones.
"Starting this year, we will be increasing military sales to India by many billions of dollars. We are also paving the way to ultimately provide India with the F-35 Stealth fighters,” President Trump said in a joint press conference with PM Modi at the White House.
Both leaders also announced the decision to pursue new procurements and co-production arrangements for ‘Javelin’ Anti-Tank Guided Missiles and ‘Stryker’ Infantry Combat Vehicles in this year.
“The leaders also pledged to elevate military cooperation across all domains – air, land, sea, space, and cyberspace – through enhanced training, exercises, and operations, incorporating the latest technologies,” said the joint statement.
It also added that both leaders decided “to break new ground to support and sustain the overseas deployments of the U.S. and Indian militaries in the Indo-Pacific, including enhanced logistics and intelligence sharing, as well as arrangements to improve force mobility for joint humanitarian and disaster relief operations along with other exchanges and security cooperation engagements.”
During a briefing to the media, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said: “There is a process by which platforms are acquired … There is, in most cases, a request for proposal that is floated. There are responses to those. They are evaluated. I don’t think regarding the acquisition of an advanced aviation platform by India, that process has not started as yet. So this is currently at the stage of a proposal and the formal process has not yet started.”
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First Tranche Of Trade Deal By 2025 Fall
Both leaders instructed their respective officials to conclude the negotiations for having a trade deal by the fall of 2025, which will be based on a new US-India initiative called ‘U.S.-India COMPACT’ (Catalyzing Opportunities for Military Partnership, Accelerated Commerce & Technology).
“The leaders set a bold new goal for bilateral trade – "Mission 500” – aiming to more than double total bilateral trade to $500 billion by 2030 … Recognizing that this level of ambition would require new, fair-trade terms, the leaders announced plans to negotiate the first tranche of a mutually beneficial, multi-sector Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) by fall of 2025,” the joint statement said.
Under the BTA, both sides have decided “to strengthen and deepen bilateral trade across the goods and services sector, and will work towards increasing market access, reducing tariff and non-tariff barriers, and deepening supply chain integration.”
In an effort to enhance US agricultural exports, India has already lowered import duties on American bourbon, motorcycles, ICT products, metals, alfalfa hay, duck meat, and medical devices.
The US has said it will take steps to increase the import of Indian mangoes and pomegranates.
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US Aims To Become Leading Oil Supplier To India
According to US President Donald Trump, Washington plans to sell crude oil to India and become its leading supplier. Both the leaders also underscored the value of strategic petroleum reserves to preserve economic stability during crises and resolved to work with key partners to expand strategic oil reserve arrangements.
“The leaders reaffirmed their commitment to increase energy trade, as part of efforts to ensure energy security, and to establish the United States as a leading supplier of crude oil and petroleum products and liquified natural gas to India, in line with the growing needs and priorities of our dynamic economies,” the joint statement said.
Currently, Russia is the largest oil and gas supplier to India.
It added: “They underscored the tremendous scope and opportunity to increase trade in the hydrocarbon sector including natural gas, ethane and petroleum products as part of efforts to ensure supply diversification and energy security. The leaders committed to enhance investments, particularly in oil and gas infrastructure, and facilitate greater cooperation between the energy companies of the two countries.”