India, US ink pact for defence sales

India and the US today signed an End-User Verification Agreement (EUVA), which gives rights to Washington experts to inspect hi-tech military hardware sold to New Delhi. 

The pact, signed here by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Foreign Minister SM Krishna, was part of a clutch of agreements, including a strategic dialogue as well as cooperation in space technology and agriculture. 

The EUVA means if the US is satisfied that the foreign (in this case Indian) company is not re-exporting or misusing its equipment, it issues a end-user verified certificate that precludes the need for the foreign firm applying for a licence each time it imports a high-tech product. 

However, India was unhappy with a clause that calls upon companies to open their sites for inspection, as most of the companies coming under the rubric of this agreement would be state-owned, many contributing to the country’s strategic programme. 

But the EUVA will allow easier exchange of technology, especially sensitive high technology, which will lead to a much greater commerce. In the short term, it will push forward claims by American companies such as Boeing and Lockheed Martin for the contract for the 126 fighter aircraft that the Indian Air Force wants to buy. 

At the press conference today, Clinton also said she and the Indian foreign minister would hold a strategic dialogue on a gamut of issues including education, health, women, science and technology. The strategic dialogue is a change more organisational than substantive, as the focus of the talks remain the same. 

Clinton announced that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had accepted an invitation from President Obama to visit the US on November 24. 

She, however, sidestepped a question on whether India’s refusal to obey the sanctions on Iran by the US was consistent with the friendship between the two countries. All she said was: “We will explore with India its approach to Iran.” 

Earlier in the day, the prime minister held a banquet in her honour. Clinton then called on Congress President Sonia Gandhi.