U.S., India expanding cooperation in defence, civil nuclear sector

The U.S. and India are expanding defence and civil nuclear cooperation, including the adoption of trusted AI and other emerging technologies powering the economy, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State S. Paul Kapur said.

Mr. Kapur made these remarks at a roundtable on India at the Hoover Institution, which saw the participation of former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and former U.S. Ambassador to India David C. Mulford.

“Under this (Trump) Administration, US engagement with India is creating jobs at home and strengthening supply chains that are critical to both the United States and the region,” Mr. Kapur said in a post on X on Monday (July 27).

“We are expanding defence and civil nuclear cooperation, including the adoption of trusted AI and other emerging technologies powering the economy,” the senior U.S. official said.

Last year, India and the U.S. signed a framework for a major defence partnership to strengthen interoperability across all domains, including land, sea, air, space, and cyberspace.

Since 2002, India has acquired numerous US defence equipment, including Apache and Chinook helicopters, C-17 and C-130J transport aircraft, P-8I maritime patrol aircraft, and M777 howitzers.

American nuclear power companies are keen on exploring the civil nuclear sector in India. Earlier this year, a delegation of top nuclear sector executives visited India to explore collaboration with the private sector in the wake of New Delhi easing liability laws by enacting the SHANTI law.