US-India sign defense agreement before trade deal

The India-US defense agreement was signed before the trade deal. Political circles believe that this agreement will be a step forward in the normalization of relations between the two countries. Indian Foreign Minister Rajnath Singh and US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth signed a defense framework agreement for the next 10 years.

After signing the agreement, Pete Hegseth posted on the X handle. In his post, he wrote, 'I met Rajnath Singh to sign the 10-year US-India defense framework. This will advance our defense partnership, which is the foundation of regional stability and deterrence. We are increasing coordination, information sharing and technical cooperation between the two countries. Our defense relationship has become much stronger than before.'

The agreement was signed at a meeting of the defense ministers of the two countries in Malaysia. The two countries agreed to sign a defense cooperation agreement for the next 10 years in a meeting between the two leaders last July.

A key point of discussion was the delivery of GE Aerospace's F404 engine. Hindustan Aeronautics Limited is facing difficulties in handing over the Tejas Light Combat Aircraft to the Air Force due to the delay in the delivery of this engine.

Rajnath Singh stressed the need for expeditious finalization of the proposed agreement between HAL and GE Aerospace for the joint production of F414 engines in India. This collaboration is expected to increase India's indigenous defense production capacity and reduce dependence on imports.

Regarding the meeting between Hegseth and Jaishankar in July, a Pentagon spokesperson said that the two sides discussed defense cooperation and the joint statement of last February. He said, "Both countries have concerns about the risk of aggression by a third power (China) in the Asia-Pacific region. They spoke about this."

Notably, the two leaders reviewed the progress made in the defense sector between the two countries in the light of the joint statement of President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in February 2025.