Singapore, Nov 14 (UNI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday urged the Trump administration in the United States to consider opening up its own defence industry in India and make this a new stepping stone and economic opportunity for both sides.
In his meeting with the US Vice President Micheal Richard Pence here, Prime Minister Modi "stressed that there was a great opportunity for United States in India in making defense equipment and setting up defense industry in India".
Prime Minister said there are merits for the the US to explore making defence equipment in India not just for its sale in India which is a potential market itself but also with an eye on regional markets.
"Not only that India is a substantial market but because the way we are placed regionally we can become a hub for exports to the rest of the region. So he (Mr Modi) conveyed to the Vice President Pence that he hoped that Trump Administration would recognize this as a new opportunity, as a new economic opportunity as well," Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale later told reporters.
"There of course both sides agreed that there had been a substantial enhancement in our defense relationship, in our imports of equipment from the United States," he said.
Both sides also discussed counter-terrorism cooperation and ways to boost trade, with India indicating interest in expanding the newly-initiated imports of oil and gas from the US.
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