US Ready To Expand Defense Sales, Cooperation With India - Pentagon Undersecretary

The US Department of Defense is ready to move forwards on a wide range of new joint programs involving defense technology exports with India over the coming year, Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment Ellen Lord said during a press briefing on Friday

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 18th October, 2019) The US Department of Defense is ready to move forwards on a wide range of new joint programs involving defense technology exports with India over the coming year, Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment Ellen Lord said during a press briefing on Friday.

"The United States is committed to strengthening its partnership with India," Lord told reporters. "Under [former Defense Production Secretary] Dr. Ajay Kumar... we were really able to move forward on a whole number of programs."

Lord said she will fly to New Delhi next week for talks with senior Indian defense officials to discuss further expanding US-India military-industrial cooperation.

Kumar, she noted, has been promoted to the position of Union Defense Secretary - India's equivalent position to US Defense Secretary.

The US-India bilateral defense trade will reach an estimated $18 billion later this year and the US government is now allowing American companies the same streamlined authorization procedures to export to India as NATO members, Japan, South Korea and Australia enjoy, Lord said.

India has sent 900,000 troops to occupy Jammu and Kashmir with a total population of only eight million people after stripping the disputed region of its special status in August. Pakistan has responded by suspending diplomatic, trade and communication relations with India.