India and the United States have signed the Industrial Security Annex Agreement, which will facilitate cooperation between the defence industry by supporting the secure transfer of key information and technology. ISA is the part of India and the United States General Agreement on Military Information Security (GSOMIA). It was signed during the second 2+2 dialogue in Washington in December 2019. The agreement will provide a framework for the exchange and protection of classified military information between the two countries` defense industries. It allows the exchange of secret information from the US government as well as US companies with the Indian private sector. Until the signing of the agreement, the exchange of information was limited to the Indian government and public defence companies. Thus, the ISA will give a boost to the Indian private sector, which seeks to play a greater role in defense production. After decades of negotiations, India signed the Memorandum of Understanding on Logistics Trade (LEMOA) in 2016 and the third COMCASA agreement last year. This means that three out of four founding agreements have been adopted. The Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement for Geospatial Cooperation (BECA) is still under negotiation as the two sides try to iron out some mutual issues.
Other agreements signed during the 2+2 Dialogue include the Industrial Security Annex (ISA), which was signed between India and the US at the second 2+2 Dialogue in Washington and will open the door for US defence companies to work with the Indian private sector for several multi-billion dollar contracts in preparation. in particular the agreement for 114 combat aircraft. The two sides also took stock of the measures taken to operationalize the basic agreement, the Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA). Lord. Singh said they have held regular meetings on this matter and taken the necessary steps to open the COMSEC account. “This will be discussed in the format of the Military Cooperation Group (MCG), including our agreement to explore cooperation in the fields of defense, space and defense, cybersecurity and special forces,” he added. Program Sub-Topic: Bilateral, Regional and Global Groupings and Agreements Involving India and/or Affecting India`s Interests The ISA is part of the General Agreement on Military Information Security (GSOMIA) that India signed with the United States long ago. This became critical when India opened up the defence sector to the private sector and strategic partnership policy, which has few major military platforms and is reserved for the Indian private sector. U.S.
companies are vying for a multibillion-dollar deal for 114 fighter jets, among others. GSOMIA was signed in 2002 between India and the United States. It allows the military to share the information they collect. Strengthening relations: Defense Secretary Rajnath Singh and Secretary of State S. Jaishankar with their U.S. counterparts Mark Esper and Mike Pompeo. | Photo Credit: Reuters Download the Economic Times News app for daily market updates and live business news. Mr.
Rajnath Singh also highlighted the operational sweeping of COMCASA and the resulting deepening of maritime cooperation. “Our maritime domain knowledge (MDA) cooperation has been extremely useful. We have sent an invitation to the United States to appoint a liaison officer for the International Fusion Center in India,” he said. India and the United States have signed a major defence pact and called on Pakistan to take action against terrorism. While these are positive results, both sides have sought to downplay the lack of progress on the trade deal and concerns in Washington about recent political turbulence. Delhi and Washington have a difficult task ahead of them to prevent their relations from being affected by these challenges. “We hope that this [ISA] will allow for a smooth transfer of technology and classified information between private facilities in the United States and India,” Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said at a press conference after the talks. “The IAF and Navy fighter jet competitions are a once-in-a-generation opportunity.
We offer some of the best technologies widely used by the U.S. Navy and Air Force, including the F/A-18 Super Hornet and the custom F-21,” Joel Starr, assistant assistant secretary in the U.S. State Department`s Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, said at a conference in Hyderabad on Wednesday. The Joint Working Group will meet regularly to harmonize policies and procedures that will enable the defence industry to collaborate on advanced defence technologies. Lord. Singh explained that one of the most important moves in the past year has been measures to operationalize COMCASA, which will allow most PLATFORMS originating in the United States to have a “secure communication capability.” Defense officials said the $5 million account to be withdrawn was created for services or information requested by the United States under COMCASA and worked to develop a tactical data link. Sealink Advanced Analysis (S2A) must be set up to analyze large amounts of data received as part of the MDA. The S2A is jointly developed by India and the United States for big data analysis, an official said.
Prelims and Hands focus: on the Industrial Security Annex and its importance in Indo-US relations, 2+2 dialogue US Secretary of Defense Mark Thomas Esper said the ISA “will facilitate cooperation between our defense industries by supporting the secure transfer of important information and technology.” Nisha Desai Biswal, Chair of the U.S.-India Business Council The Indian Navy has invited friendly foreign countries to send liaison officers to the Information Fusion Center for the Indian Ocean Region (IFC-IOR), which was established last year. .
