Washington:

Hours after Prime Minister Narendra Modi met General Electric chairman H Lawrence Culp Jr in Washington, the multinational conglomerate’s aerospace arm announced that it has signed a pact with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited to produce fighter jet engines for the Indian Air Force.

A statement issued by GE Aerospace said its Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) is “a major milestone” amid Prime Minister Modi’s state visit to the US and a “key element in strengthening defense cooperation between the two countries”.

The agreement, the statement said, includes the potential joint production of GE Aerospace’s F414 engines in India. “GE Aerospace continues to work with the US government to receive the necessary export authorization for this. The effort is part of the Indian Air Force’s Light Combat Aircraft Mk2 program,” it said.

GE chief H. Lawrence Culp Jr termed the pact “historic”. “This is a historic agreement made possible by our longstanding partnership with India and HAL,” he said.

“We are proud to play a role in advancing President Biden and Prime Minister Modi’s vision of closer coordination between the two nations. Our F414 engines are unmatched and will offer important economic and national security benefits for both countries as we help our customers produce the highest quality engines to meet the needs of their military fleet,” he added.

Earlier today, the Prime Minister’s Office had tweeted photographs of the Prime Minister with the GE chief. “PM @narendramodi held productive discussions with CEO of @generalelectric , H. Lawrence Culp, Jr. They discussed GE’s greater technology collaboration to promote manufacturing in India,” the PMO tweeted.