India, US agrees to set-up joint working group in defence industrial security

The Industrial Security Agreement summit between India and the United States took place between September 27 to October 1, 2021, in New Delhi.

The high-level summit between the two nations was organized to develop a protocol for the exchange of classified information between the defence ministries of both countries.

The Industrial Security Agreement (ISA) Summit was led by the Designated Security Authorities namely Anurag Bajpai from India’s side and David Paul Bagnati from the United States’s side.

ISA Summit between India and the US: Key Highlights

• The Industrial Security Agreement summit between the two friendly nations was held to develop the protocol for the exchange of classified information between the defence industries of India and the US.

• During the summit, an in-principle agreement was made for the establishment of the Indo-US Industrial Security Joint Working Group.

• The group from India and the US, during the summit, agreed to meet regularly to align policies for the defence industries in order to collaborate on critical defence technologies.

• It was held in order to create a roadmap for the implementation of the ISA. The Designated Security Authorities (DSAs) also visited the Indian Defence Industry in preparation for the roadmap.

What is Industrial Security Agreement?

The Industrial Security Agreement (ISA) was signed in December 2019 at the second 2+2 dialogue in Washington in order to facilitate the exchange of classified information between the defence industries of India and the US.

2+2 Dialogue is a format of dialogue where the foreign and defence ministers or the secretaries meet with their counterparts from another country. Apart from the US, India also holds such talks with Australia, Japan at the Defence and Foreign secretary level.

India-US relations:

The strengthening relations between India and the United States took another successful step after PM Modi’s recent visit to the US. He attended the first-ever in-person QUAD Summit hosted by US President Biden at the White House. The summit was also attended by the heads of Japan and Australia.

Prime Modi during his recent visit to the US also held bilateral talks with US President Biden where both the leaders discussed strengthening relations between India and the US and also talked about various aspects of global terrorism which have become a cause of concern for many nations.

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