India Asks Weapon Exporting Countries to Ease Technology Control Laws
Speaking at the Berlin Air Show being held this week, the online edition of The Hindu newspaper reports that India's Defense Minister "has asked major weapon exporting countries to relax their technology control laws if they wish to participate in the country’s defence modernisation programme which will touch $50 billion over the next five years."
India's Defense Minister also said:
"We don’t want to project India only as a market [for defence platforms]. Indigenisation is our first priority. We want to buy but only with countries willing to completely transfer technology to us. The future is co-development and co-production."India is the official partner country of the 2008 Berlin Air Show.
He said that the air show provided a good opportunity for India to project its defence capabilities but since the country had demonstrated that it was a historical non-proliferator, it was time the West started dealing with India positively as far as defence technology was concerned. "We cannot shift totally to the concept of full indigenisation otherwise our modernisation will be affected. But we will do business only with countries willing to transfer technology."
Labels: Export Controls, India
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