by : defense news
Indo-U.S. strategic ties take a quantum jump Oct. 4, when U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Indian Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee sign the 123 agreement.
The Indo-U.S. civil nuclear cooperation agreement took three years before the final obstacle was cleared, when the U.S. Senate voted overwhelmingly in its favor on Oct. 2.
The agreement allows U.S. sales of nuclear fuel and technology to India, although India has nuclear weapons and is not a signatory of the Nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty. The special waiver that allowed the deal to go through will, however, open nonmilitary facilities to international inspection.
A senior Indian Defence Ministry official said the agreement will not affect India's ongoing nuclear weapon program, which has established a triad for nuclear delivery from sea, land and air through a variety of missiles and proposed submarines being acquired from Russia.
The agreement will dramatically increase the pace of Indo-U.S. defense ties, paving the way for India's acquisition of a variety of U.S. weaponry and equipment and an impetus to U.S. defense companies operating in India, the ministry official said.
A senior executive of a U.S. defense company operating in India said U.S. defense firms now feel optimistic about doing business with India after the nuclear cooperation agreement is signed. The executive said he hoped New Delhi would increase the Foreign Direct Investment limit in the defense sector from the current 26 percent to 49 percent to help American companies take advantage of the favorable climate for defense cooperation.
Lockheed Martin and Boeing are competing for the $10 billion Indian Air Force contract for the purchase of 126 medium-range multi-role combat aircraft.
Mahindra Singh, a retired Indian Army major general, said the Indo-U.S. agreement will pave the way for an early strategic military alliance between India and the U.S. in the next decade. Singh, however, added that the agreement and impending strategic alliance between India and America is likely to raise concerns, especially in Beijing, and also in Moscow, which could lose its large military market in India to Western sources.
The agreement will open a nearly $140 billion nuclear market, where overseas nuclear companies can tie up with Indian entities in setting up nuclear power facilities.
India, which imports nearly 80 percent of its fuel requirements, will not be dependent on fuel in the long run as its nuclear power generation picks up, a Foreign Ministry official said. India will become part of a future Energy Security Agreement with Western countries, the official added.
Indo-U.S. strategic ties take a quantum jump Oct. 4, when U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Indian Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee sign the 123 agreement.
The Indo-U.S. civil nuclear cooperation agreement took three years before the final obstacle was cleared, when the U.S. Senate voted overwhelmingly in its favor on Oct. 2.
The agreement allows U.S. sales of nuclear fuel and technology to India, although India has nuclear weapons and is not a signatory of the Nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty. The special waiver that allowed the deal to go through will, however, open nonmilitary facilities to international inspection.
A senior Indian Defence Ministry official said the agreement will not affect India's ongoing nuclear weapon program, which has established a triad for nuclear delivery from sea, land and air through a variety of missiles and proposed submarines being acquired from Russia.
The agreement will dramatically increase the pace of Indo-U.S. defense ties, paving the way for India's acquisition of a variety of U.S. weaponry and equipment and an impetus to U.S. defense companies operating in India, the ministry official said.
A senior executive of a U.S. defense company operating in India said U.S. defense firms now feel optimistic about doing business with India after the nuclear cooperation agreement is signed. The executive said he hoped New Delhi would increase the Foreign Direct Investment limit in the defense sector from the current 26 percent to 49 percent to help American companies take advantage of the favorable climate for defense cooperation.
Lockheed Martin and Boeing are competing for the $10 billion Indian Air Force contract for the purchase of 126 medium-range multi-role combat aircraft.
Mahindra Singh, a retired Indian Army major general, said the Indo-U.S. agreement will pave the way for an early strategic military alliance between India and the U.S. in the next decade. Singh, however, added that the agreement and impending strategic alliance between India and America is likely to raise concerns, especially in Beijing, and also in Moscow, which could lose its large military market in India to Western sources.
The agreement will open a nearly $140 billion nuclear market, where overseas nuclear companies can tie up with Indian entities in setting up nuclear power facilities.
India, which imports nearly 80 percent of its fuel requirements, will not be dependent on fuel in the long run as its nuclear power generation picks up, a Foreign Ministry official said. India will become part of a future Energy Security Agreement with Western countries, the official added.