Signalling a new chapter in defence cooperation, India and the United States have agreed to hold talks on transfer of dual-use and military items in the wake of Washington's recent decision to lift bulk of the sanctions imposed after the 1998 Pokhran nuclear tests. India's interests in purchasing arms from the US would be discussed at the Defence Policy Group (DPG) meeting to be held next month in New Delhi, said a joint statement issued after Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee held his first summit meeting with President George W Bush on Saturday.
It said the two sides decided to begin a dialogue at the government-to-government level to evaluate the processes involving transfer of dual-use and military items with greater transparency and efficiency. The two leaders agreed that the recent lifting of ecnomic, military and technology restrictions on India by the US provided a further impetus to bilateral relations.
Welcoming the resumption of the DPG, which had held its last meeting in 1997, Vajpayee and Bush termed it as a step towards increasing exchanges and technical cooperation in defence and security areas.
Bureau Report