India’s Prime Minister Modi and President Trump agreed to a security agenda that also deals with “terrorism.”
President Donald Trump plans to dramatically increase arms sales to India this year, including ultrasonic F-35 fighter jets, following his meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Modi met with Trump in Washington on Thursday, where the pair discussed everything from trade to immigration, and security is high on the agenda.
“From this year, we will increase military sales to India by hundreds of millions of dollars,” Trump said at a joint press conference with Modi.
“We’re also opening up a way to ultimately offer India the F-35 stealth fighter,” he said.
The US president has cooperated with security issues, including the “threat of radical Islamic terrorism” and the trade deal that sees India shrinking the US trade deficit and India importing more US oil and gas He said that.
Modi is the fourth world leader visiting Trump since taking office, but the pair had close ties during Trump’s first term. These bonds may have helped leaders attack large defense contracts.
India’s Foreign Secretary Vikram Mithri later said that the F-35 stealth fighter deal was a proposal at this point and that a formal process is ongoing.
The White House did not respond to a request for comment by Reuters news agency on the transaction. Lockheed Martin, who makes the F-35 jet, also did not immediately comment on Trump’s ambitions to sell the jet to India.
US military sales like the F-35 are considered government-to-government transactions in which the Department of Defense acts as an intermediary between a defense contractor and a foreign government.
India has agreed to purchase more than $20 billion in US defense products since 2008.
Last year, India agreed to buy the 31 MQ-9B Seaguardian and Skyguardian Loan after more than six years of deliberation.
According to the US Congressional Research Service, New Delhi is expected to spend more than $200 million over the next decade to modernize its military.
“More stricter negotiators”
Following his meeting with Modi, Trump praised the Indian Prime Minister. The Indian Prime Minister described him as a “more stricter negotiator” than he did.
Modi described Trump as a “friend” and said he would adopt a unique version of the India president’s famous catchphrase, “Make America Great Again.”
As explained by Trump, beyond their “special bond,” the two leaders are also strategic reasons to be close by.
The US sees India as a foil of China’s upward power, and both countries are members of the Quad Security Agreement alongside Japan and Australia.
India and China share a 3,488-kilometer (2,167 miles) border, and in 2020 tensions have led to a violent skirmish, killing more than 20 soldiers.
New Delhi also needs US weapons to complete an ambitious and expensive plan to modernize its military over the next decade.
India has been a long-standing customer of the US defense industry, but its top supplier has historically been Russia.
However, Moscow is now out of the picture due to the war with Ukraine and international sanctions. The addition of the F-35 to Indian military is a major victory for New Delhi, as only small groups such as Israel, Japan and NATO are permitted to purchase from the US.
