Why Chuck Hagel arrived in India?
New Delhi, India: United States Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel arrived in India on Thursday for a three-day visit.
He is scheduled to hold bilateral meetings with Indian leaders including Defense Minister Arun Jaitley. He will deliver a speech at the Observer Research Foundation, a prominent Indian think-tank. This is significant as this year marks the 25th anniversary of the Observer Research Foundation.
Hagel will discuss the situation in Afghanistan with Indian officials as well as ways to strengthen U.S.-Indian defense cooperation, including military exercises, defense, trade, co-production and co-development, and research and new technologies through the Defense Technology and Trade Initiative (DTTI).
DTTI was developed two years ago, and is based on the premise that U.S. -India defense cooperation could – and should – be expanded. The path to expansion is through a combination of new opportunities and joint commitment to removing artificial barriers to cooperation – by both India and the U.S. DTTI with India is not just buying and selling new technologies, but co-production and co-development of these defense technologies.
It may be mentioned that Secretary of State John Kerry visited India this week and his now Secretary of Defence are here in Nel Delhi, indicating reshaping Indo-US relations
