New Delhi: External affairs minister Sushma Swaraj and defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday held the talks with US Secretary of State Michael R Pompeo and Defence Secretary James Mattis.
India and the US inked a long-negotiated pact under which critical and encrypted defence technologies will be provided to the Indian military by the Americans, the officials said.
The 'Communications, Compatibility, Security Agreement (COMCASA)' was signed after the first two-plus-two talks Swaraj and Sitharaman had with Pompeo and 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.
Both Pompeo and Mattis arrived in Delhi on Wednesday for the inaugural Indo-US two-plus-two talks which were finalised during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Washington last year.
In a special gesture, Swaraj received Secretary Pompeo at the airport on Wednesday while Sitharaman welcomed Secretary Mattis, reflecting the importance India attaches to their visit.
The officials said the focus of the two-plus-two talks will be to deepen global strategic partnership between the two countries and resolve differences over India's defence engagement with Russia and crude oil import from Iran.
The two sides may also deliberate on a proposed pact on encrypted defence technologies and on ways to boost counterterror cooperation.
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