To boost ties, Parrikar meets Carter today

New Delhi, December 7

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar and his US counterpart Ashton Carter would meet in Delhi tomorrow and delegations of the two nations would review the progress in the bilateral defence ties. 

India and the US have signed a logistics agreement to share supplies and are working together in jet-engine technology and seagoing aircraft carrier technology. The US is now India’s second largest supplier of military equipment and weapons after Russia. 

Sweden-based think-tank Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), following a five-year (2011-15) assessment titled ‘Trends in international arms transfers-2015’, said: “During the period, Russia supplied 70 pc of India’s arms imports, the US 14 pc and Israel 4.5 pc.” India has been importing special-operation planes and specialised artillery guns for the mountains from the US. Both the nations are looking to expand their ties but since Carter is on his way out, he cannot commit much. He can only take forward the previous programmes. — TNS