Article Posted on : - Sep 06, 2018

Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and the US Secretary of Defence James Mattis at a delegation level meeting at South Block, New Delhi, Thursday, September 6, 2018. Photo: PTI.

NEW DELHI (PTI): India and the US Thursday inked a long-negotiated pact under which critical and encrypted defence technologies will be provided to the Indian military by the Americans, officials said here.

The 'Communications, Compatibility, Security Agreement (COMCASA)' was signed after the first two-plus-two talks External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had with US Secretary of State Michael R Pompeo and Defence Secretary James Mattis.

The COMCASA will facilitate India to obtain critical defence technologies from the US, and access critical communication network to ensure interoperability among the US and the Indian armed forces.

It will also allow the installation of high-security US communication equipment on defence platforms being sourced from the US, officials said.