External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on Sunday said India’s “Make in India” priorities would remain central to the next phase of defence cooperation with the United States, as the two countries look to deepen military and strategic engagement under a renewed 10-year framework agreement.
Addressing a joint press conference with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio in New Delhi, Jaishankar said both sides discussed aligning future defence collaboration with India’s domestic manufacturing ambitions and evolving battlefield requirements.
Also Read: Jaishankar and Rubio hold key talks on Hormuz security and West Asia stability
“We discussed the importance of taking into account the Make in India approach and lessons drawn from recent conflicts while going forward in the defence domain,” he said.
India and the U.S. had renewed their decade-long major defence partnership framework last year on the sidelines of the ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting-Plus in Kuala Lumpur. The agreement is aimed at expanding cooperation across defence technology, military interoperability and industrial collaboration over the next decade.
Jaishankar said the two countries also reviewed progress on a comprehensive underwater domain awareness roadmap signed recently as part of broader maritime security cooperation.
On energy ties, the minister said India’s primary objective remained ensuring affordable and reliable energy supplies for its population of 1.4 billion people. He welcomed the recent expansion in bilateral energy trade and said diversified sourcing remained key to India’s energy security strategy.
The two sides also discussed civil nuclear cooperation following the passage of the SHANTI Act in the United States, which New Delhi believes could create fresh opportunities for collaboration in the nuclear sector.
“We hope to realise the potential of cooperation in the nuclear domain,” Jaishankar said, adding that he also flagged certain regulatory concerns on the American side.
On critical minerals and emerging technologies, Jaishankar said India and the U.S. were working together both bilaterally and through platforms such as the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue and the U.S.-led Pax Silica initiative.
Also Read: ‘Every country has stupid people’: Rubio on racist remarks against Indians in U.S.
He said cooperation in semiconductors and artificial intelligence was expected to grow further as India builds capabilities in both sectors.
Jaishankar added that discussions later in the day would cover geopolitical developments in the Gulf, the Ukraine conflict and the Indo-Pacific region.
Reiterating India’s broader foreign policy position, he said New Delhi continued to support dialogue and diplomacy in resolving conflicts, backed safe and uninterrupted maritime commerce, and opposed the weaponisation of trade, resources and supply chains.
(With inputs from ANI)
