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India will be the only country outside US’ formal treaty allies that will gain access to almost 99 percent of latest American defence technologies after being recognised as a ‘Major Defence Partner’, a senior Obama administration official has said.
Earlier this month, after a meeting between US President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the White House, the US in a joint statement, recognised India as a ‘Major Defence Partner.’
The White House Official stressed that the language in the statement was intended to reflect the unique partnership US shares with India in terms of defence technologies transfer and partneship.
Under this recognition India will receive license-free access to a wide range of dual-use technologies in conjunction with steps that New Delhi has committed to take to advance its export control objectives.
Acknowledging that the impression in New Delhi is that India is not getting access to the kind of technology it needs from the US, the official said it was a constant source of discussion.
India being recognised as a “major defence partner puts it on par with our treaty allies.” Inside the American bureaucratic system, such a recognition removes a number of major export control hurdles for India.
The category of ‘Major Defence Partner’ was created specifically for India, observed Ashley Tellis, of Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, a top American think-tank.
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