'Indo-US defence cooperation holds significance for both nations'

By Songbedna Bauri:Indo-US defence cooperation is of great important for the collaboration between both the nations, said US Deputy Secretary of Defence Ashton B Carter. He also said that Indian leaders should outline a joint vision for stronger US-India defence cooperation.

This statement came while he was speaking at an interactive session 'US-India Defence Cooperation: The Way Forward', which was organised by CII.

He also threw light on the progress in Indo-US defence relations in the past few years and also spoke about the measures that both nations can take with the aim to make US-India defence cooperation more effective in nature.

Carter said, “We want to get to a place where we continuously discover new opportunities to make innovative investments that benefit both countries for generations. The only limit to our cooperation should be our independent strategic decisions not bureaucratic red tape. Ours will be a unique relationship, based on trust, sharing, and reliability.”

Indian defence industry is expected to witness fast growth. India’s needs of defence weapons and equipment is rising.

Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General, CII, said, “The efforts being put in by the governments from both sides towards resolving the issues affecting Defence cooperation is very encouraging. The recent visit of US defence secretary Leon Panetta to New Delhi signifies the interest and intent of cooperation.”