New Delhi: In what could be an achievement, India has become the first South Asian country to be added to the Strategic Trade Authorization-1 (STA-1) list after the US issued a federal notification to this effect, paving the way for high-technology product sales to New Delhi, particularly in civil space and defence sectors.
India is also only the third Asian country after Japan and South Korea to be given that status by the United States. Overall, India has become the 37th country to be designated the STA-1 status, which is generally given by the US to NATO allies.
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According to reports, the federal notification, issued on Friday, gains significance as the Trump Administration made an exception for India, which is yet to become a member of the Nuclear Suppliers Group or NSG.
Traditionally, the US has placed only those countries in the STA-1 list who are members of the four export control regimes: Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR), Wassenaar Arrangement (WA), Australia Group (AG) and the NSG.
India is a member of three of the multilateral export control regimes mentioned above, but hasn’t got an NSG membership because of China repeated efforts to block it.
In its federal notification, the Trump Administration has noted how India is a member of three of the four multilateral export regimes.
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By placing India in the STA-1 list, the United States has acknowledged that for all practical purposes India adheres to the export control regimes of the Nuclear Suppliers Group. India is now the only nuclear-armed country in the world to get such a status.
This exception for New Delhi is intended to send a very strong political message to China and the world, taking into account that America’s closest ally Israel is yet to be given this status, primarily because it is not a member of these multilateral export control regimes.
“This action befits India’s status as a Major Defence Partner and recognises” the country’s membership in three of the four export control regimes — the MTCR, WA and AG, the federal notification said.
(With agencies input)