Enormous potential for partnerships: US envoy

nLUCKNOW:THE US on Tuesday said there is “enormous” potential for industry partnerships with India on state-of-the-art defence equipment and also hoped for a revival of the economy so that Delhi can spend more on the sector.

Addressing a conference ahead of a five-day Defence Exposition which begins in the Uttar Pradesh capital on Wednesday, US Ambassador Kenneth Juster urged interoperability of defence systems deployed by partner countries. “It is critical that India moves toward systems, not just weapons, that are effective, agile, and resilient,” he said.

“We believe that India must ultimately move toward systems that are interoperable with the equipment and networks of its security partners,” the envoy added.

From virtually no defence sales between India and the United States in 2001, the figure today is about US$ 18 billion, Juster said.

Asked if it the US should tone down its expectation on defence sales to India now because of its lack of funds, he said, “India’s own Defence budget obviously is a matter of internal choice.” But he added that one concern over the economic slowdown is that it affected a country’s ability to modernise its defence capability.

“So, my first hope is that the economy is revived and growth increases, because that will also increase the money available for defence expenditure, which is very important as this region continues to transform,” he said.

He said along the pathway to a deeper industry-to-industry relationship between India and the US “there are, of course, barriers that we must overcome”.

Juster is leading the US delegation at the 11th edition of the government’s defence exhibition which will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“We are hoping to announce a range of defence deals in near future,” he said. The theme of the Defexpo this year is “Digital Transformation of Defence”.