India, US to sign BECA agreement during 2+2 dialogue to facilitate exchange of sensitive information

India and the US will signal the Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement (BECA), the final of 4 so-called foundational agreements for sharing delicate info and gross sales of superior army {hardware}, throughout the 2+2 ministerial dialogue on Tuesday.

The settlement, which can facilitate sharing of categorized satellite tv for pc and sensor information, figured in discussions between defence minister Rajnath Singh and his visiting American counterpart Mark Esper on Monday. The signing of the pact shall be one of many key outcomes of the two+2 dialogue between the international and defence ministers of the 2 sides.

“The two ministers expressed satisfaction that agreement of BECA will be signed during the visit,” the defence ministry stated in a press release after the assembly between Singh and Esper, who arrived in New Delhi on Monday afternoon together with secretary of state Mike Pompeo.

BECA is taken into account the final of the foundational agreements to be signed by India and the US. The two sides have been sharing real-time intelligence below the Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA), which was signed in 2018. The two international locations signed the General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA) in 2002 and the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA) in 2016.

Esper was given a tri-services guard of honour at South Block earlier than his assembly with Singh, throughout which the 2 leaders reviewed bilateral defence cooperation, together with military-to-military cooperation, safe communication programs and information-sharing, and defence commerce and industrial points. They additionally mentioned methods to take bilateral cooperation ahead, the assertion stated.

Also learn: China has ramped up army presence throughout LAC. Ladakh isn’t solely goal

The US defence secretary welcomed Australia’s participation on this yr’s version of the Malabar train that options the navies of India, Japan and the US, the assertion stated.

India, final week, invited Australia to affix the train, making it the primary army drill lately to characteristic all members of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad). The international ministers of the Quad nations held their second assembly in Tokyo on October 6.

Singh and Esper expressed satisfaction on the shut engagements between the armed forces of India and the US and mentioned “potential new areas of cooperation, both at service-to-service level and at the joint level”, the assertion stated.

They known as for continuation of current defence dialogue mechanisms in any respect ranges throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, significantly the Military Cooperation Group (MCG), the assertion stated. “They also discussed requirements of expanding deployments of liaison officers,” it added.

Singh spoke about initiatives below India’s ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ (self-reliant India) initiative and inspired investments within the nation’s defence trade. He invited US firms to benefit from India’s liberalised insurance policies and the beneficial defence trade ecosystem.