The India-U.S. defence relationship may now get personal attention with strong India-backer Ashton Carter on Friday nominated by President Barack Obama for the key post of the Defence Secretary.
A close Obama confidant, Carter, 60, has served in his administration, in particular at the Pentagon, in various capacities — the last being that of the Deputy Secretary of Defence from October 2011 to December 2013. During that period he was also the Pentagon’s point person on India, launching the path-breaking Defence Trade and Technology Initiative (DTTI).
Also called the Carter-Menon initiative, the soon to be U.S. Defense Secretary submitted a list of more than a dozen hi-tech defence items for co-production and co-development with India. India and the U.S. are “destined to be partners” at the world stage, he had said. It is for the first time in independent India that India-U.S. defence relationship would attract personal interest from a sitting Defence Secretary.
