Defence Minister Shri Rajnath Singh and External Affairs Minister Dr S. Jaishankar met US Secretary of Defense Dr Mark T Esper and Secretary of State Michael R Pompeo in Washington DC on December 18, 2019 for the second annual India-US 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue.
Industrial Security Annex (ISA)
Bot sides signed the Industrial Security Annex (ISA), which will open the door for U.S. defence companies to partner with the Indian private sector for several multi-billion dollar deals in the pipeline, including the one for 114 fighter jets.
The Industrial Security Annex (ISA) is a part of the General Security Of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA), which India signed with the U.S. long back. It became critical as India opened up the defence sector to the private sector and the Strategic Partnership policy, which has few big military platforms and is reserved for the Indian private sector. U.S. companies are in the race for multi-billion dollar deal for 114 fighter jets, among other deals.
The two sides also took stock of the steps being taken to operationalise the foundational agreement, the Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA).
Priority initiatives have been identified for execution under the Defence Technology and Trade Initiative (DTTI) programme. The two sides also concluded a standard operating procedure for this process. These measures are expected to provide momentum to collaboration between the private defence industries of both India and the US. The two sides also agreed to move forward in their engagement in the area of defence innovation
About India-US 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue
This 2+2 Ministerial is the highest-level institutional mechanism between the two countries and provides for a review of the security, defence and strategic partnership between India and the United States. This was the second 2+2 meeting and the first in US.
