India has welcomed the decision of the U.S. government to grant it the status of a trading partner equivalent to its closest allies in the NATO. This decision is likely to boost India’s defence trade with the U.S. The Ministry of External Affairs, in a statement, said it proved India’s responsible record as a defence player.
Apart from India, other Asian countries in the STA-1 list are Japan and South Korea.
“This step will further facilitate trade and technology collaboration in defence and high technology areas. We look forward to the U.S. side operationalising the decision at an early date,” the MEA said.
Source:https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/sta-1-status-from-us-welcome-says-india/article24567766.ece