Cabinet takes up Comcasa on eve of 2+2 dialogue

NEW DELHI: In the run up to the India-US 2+2 dialogue, the Union Cabinet took up the Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement, a foundational defence pact which could be signed between the two countries on Thursday, said a person familiar with the development.

COMCASA aims to give a legal framework for transfer of highly sensitive communication security equipment from the US to India that would streamline and facilitate interoperability between their armed forces. It will allow India to operate highend secured communication equipment installed on American platforms acquired by Indian forces, such as C-130 J, C-17 and Apache and Chinook helicopters.

“The India US relationship is destined for an upward trajectory and Washington has a lot to offer,” a US official told HT on Tuesday.

US secretary of state Mike Pompeo said that the talks will be primarily about ‘about things that are big and strategic and will go on for 20, 40, 50 years’. He added that the dialogue will include issues like waivers and exemptions from the Iran and Russia sanctions but not be focused on them.

“They’re part of the conversation. They’re part of the relationship. They will certainly come up, but I don’t think they’ll be the primary focus of what it is we’re trying to accomplish here,” Pompeo said to reporters traveling with him.

India had earlier signed the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA) in August 2016. A third foundational agreement is the Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement for Geo-spatial Cooperation (BECA) is yet to be finalised.