US keen to cooperate with India in Ballistic Missile Defence shield programme

NEW DELHI: With India in the process of putting in place an indigenous Ballistic Missile Defence (BMD) shield, the US today expressed interest in having cooperation in this area.

"That is an important potential area for our future cooperation," visiting US Deputy Defence Secretary Ashton Carter said.

"I think BMD has great strategic importance and, therefore, the two governments should discuss that strategically before they discuss that technically," he said while addressing a function here organised by CII.

He was asked if the US and India could work together to develop a BMD shield to showcase their strategic relations.

India is already working towards developing a missile defence shield on its own and is in the process of deploying its systems in Delhi and Mumbai.

The two countries had earlier discussed the issue at several platforms.

"I am wary of showcases probably because it should have strategic and economic sense. It is fine to have symbolic sense but first and foremost it should have strategic and economic sense," Carter said.

On the US stressing more on cooperation than trade in its ties in the defence sector with India, he said the two countries want to get out of the buyer-seller relationship and want to work on co-development of projects.

"We want to do things together, we want to develop products together and produce technology together. There is a little difference between trade and cooperation and between the two, we are really looking for cooperation," he said.