According to a statement from the Pentagon, India and the US have established a bilateral, nonlegally binding SOSA that is looking to assure both countries the ability to get industrial resources needed to meet unexpected supply chain disruptions and their respective national security requirements.
The agreement was signed Thursday by Vic Ramdass, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Industrial Base Policy, for the US Department of Defense, and by Samir Kumar Sinha, Additional Secretary and Director General (Acquisitions) for the Indian Ministry of Defence.
The DoD said that the two countries agree to provide reciprocal priority support for goods and services supporting national defense under the SOSA.
"This Security of Supply Arrangement represents a major step forward in the US-India Major Defense Partner relationship and will be instrumental in the augmentation of the US-India Defense Technology and Trade Initiative," Ramdass said.
The agreement now requires both India and the US to fast-track each other's requests for critical defense resources. The guarantees to India by the US would be provided under the US Defense Priorities and Allocations System, which includes program determinations by DoD and rating authorizations by DOC. Indian reciprocity will be worked out through a Code of Conduct with its industrial sector, whereby Indian companies will volunteer to extend priority support to the US.
SOSA agreements are critical for the DoD because it seeks to strengthen its interoperability with its defense trade partners. The arrangements offer working groups, communication channels, ease of doing business with the DoD, and means of preventing potential supply chain complications during peacetime, in emergencies, and in conflict. They also aid in developing investment strategies that ensure redundancy and security.
This deal would also raise India's status to the 18th SOSA partner with the US, including Australia, Canada, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, South Korea, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, and the UK.
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