Washington: As the US enhances its security partnership with India as part of Asia rebalance, American companies could see “billions of dollars” in additional weapons sales to New Delhi, according to a senior US defence official.
Noting that US military sales to India have grown from virtually zero in 2008 to more than $8 billion, Andrew Shapiro, assistant secretary of state for political-military affairs, told reporters Thursday “we think there’s going to be billions dollars more in the next couple of years.”
This was so despite India’s decision to choose French-built Rafale plane in preference to US made Lockheed and Boeing aircraft in a $10 billion competition for new fleet of advanced combat aircraft, he said.
“While that fighter competition loss was disappointing, we have made tremendous progress in the defence trade relationship,” Shapiro said.
US deputy defence secretary Ashton Carter, he said was “heading up a defence trade initiative with India, which we think is making some good progress and will, hopefully, lead to even a greater pace of additional defence trade with India.”
Shapiro, who is leaving the State Department at the end of this week, said his bureau “has been instrumental in enhancing our security partnerships in Asia and with new and emerging powers such as India.”
The resumption of a political-military dialogue with India after five or six years, he said, “was significant because we were able to help our Indian counterparts work through the challenges of interagency cooperation on national security issues.” (IANS)
