India and the US will explore ways to bolster their strategic cooperation at a two-day summit beginning Tuesday, which would be specifically focused on advancing bilateral defence innovation and collaboration.

INDUS X Summit 2024 2024

India and the US will explore ways to bolster their strategic cooperation at a two-day summit beginning Tuesday, which would be specifically focused on advancing bilateral defence innovation and collaboration. MoD said the ‘INDUS-X’ summit in Delhi marks a “significant milestone” in the collaborative efforts between the two countries.

The ministry said the summit aims to be a “pivotal” event driving strategic technology partnerships and defence industrial cooperation between India and the US. The summit is being organised by India’s Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX) and the Department of Defence of the US in cooperation with the US-India Business Council and Society of Indian Defence Manufacturers (SIDM).

Summit will feature a dynamic line-up of activities designed to foster collaboration, innovation, and knowledge exchange. From panel discussions and workshops to senior leaders’ forums and joint challenge winner felicitations, the agenda is packed with insightful sessions aimed at charting the future trajectory of U.S.-India defence relations.

India USA Relations

•The U.S. has emerged as India’s biggest trading partner in 2022-23 on account of increasing economic ties between the two countries.

•The bilateral trade between India and the U.S. has increased by 7.65% to USD 128.55 in 2022-23 as against USD 119.5 billion in 2021-22.

•Exports to the U.S. rose by 2.81% to USD 78.31 billion in 2022-23 as against USD 76.18 billion in 2021-22, while imports grew by about 16% to USD 50.24 billion.

Defence Cooperation

•The Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA) in 2016,

•the Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA) in 2018,

•The Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement for Geo-Spatial cooperation (BECA) in 2020.

•While the General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA) was signed a long time ago, an extension to it, the Industrial Security Annex (ISA), was signed in 2019

Space and Science and Technology

•ISRO and US NASA are developing a microwave remote sensing satellite for Earth observation, NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR).

•In June 2023 ISRO signed with NASA the Artemis Accords to participate in peaceful and sustainable civil exploration of outer space.