India, US ink security agreement

Putting an end to speculations, India and the United States have signed the Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA) during the first ever '2+2' talks between the countries. Addressing the media in a joint statement with United States Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj said both nations have also agreed on working together towards entry of India in the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG). The landmark COMCASA agreement is likely to open the way for sales of more sensitive US military equipment to India. The agreement was reached after Pompeo and United States Defence Secretary James 'Jim' Mattis met Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Swaraj in New Delhi for the dialogue. This comes as a major boost for India which was designated as a 'Major Defence Partner' in 2016 by the US. 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.