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India and US NSAs commit to enhancing collaboration in critical and emerging technologies
Ajit Doval and his US counterpart Jake Sullivan co-chaired the second meeting of the India-US initiative on iCET in New Delhi.
Jake Sullivan with Ajit Doval during a February 2023 meeting. / X/@JakeSullivan46
In the first official visit since Prime Minister Modi's re-election for his third term, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan met with his Indian counterpart Ajit Doval. Both officials agreed to enhance cooperation across various domains, including defense technology, space exploration, artificial intelligence, high-performance computing, critical minerals, among others.
Sullivan, who embarked on a two-day official visit to India starting on June.17, also held a meeting with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.
Sullivan also met Prime Minister Narendra Modi who said in a post on X, “India is committed to further strengthen the India-IS comprehensive global strategic partnership for global good.”
Met US National Security Advisor @JakeSullivan46. India is committed to further strengthen the India-US Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership for global good. pic.twitter.com/A3nJHzPjKe
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) June 17, 2024
Importantly, Doval and Sullivan co-chaired the second meeting of the India-US initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET) in New Delhi, during which they established the vision for the next chapter of their “strategic technology partnership”.
Both sides underscored their commitment to ensure they “stay at the leading edge of innovation and enhancing coordination with like-minded nations to deliver secure, reliable, and cost-competitive technology solutions for the Indian and American people and partners around the world”.
They underscored the importance of adapting their technology protection toolkits and resolved “to prevent the leakage of sensitive and dual-use technologies to countries of concern”.
The meeting builds on the progress made following the launch of the India-US Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technologies (iCET) by PM Modi and US President Joe Biden on the sidelines of the Quad Summit in Tokyo on May.24, 2022.
Discussions during the second meeting covered several key areas:
Deepening Defense Innovation and Industrial Cooperation:
- This involves talks on India's planned acquisition of the MQ-9B platforms and potential co-production of land warfare systems.
- Progress on other co-production initiatives was discussed, such as the GE Aerospace-HAL project focused on engines to power India's fighter fleet.
Securing Semiconductor Supply Chains:
- A strategic partnership was proposed to co-develop semiconductor design and manufacturing for precision-guided ammunition and other national security-focused electronics platforms.
- The partnership aims to facilitate the identification of "near-term opportunities" and support the longer-term development of "complementary semiconductor ecosystems" through collaboration between industry groups.
Civilian and Defense Space Technology Cooperation:
- Initiatives include securing a carrier for the first joint effort between NASA and ISRO astronauts at the International Space Station.
- A Strategic Framework for Human Spaceflight Cooperation was discussed to deepen interoperability in space.
- Preparations for the launch of the NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar, a jointly developed satellite aimed at mapping the entirety of the Earth’s surface twice every 12 days, were reviewed.
- Defense space cooperation was strengthened through the second Advanced Domains Defense Dialogue held at the Pentagon in May 2024. This included an India-US space tabletop exercise and bilateral expert exchanges on emerging domains, including artificial intelligence.
Clean Energy and a Critical Minerals Partnership:
- Promoting India’s "vital role" in the Mineral Security Partnership, including plans for co-investing in a lithium resource project in South America and a rare earths deposit in Africa.
- Establishment of an "India-US Advanced Materials R&D Forum" to expand collaboration between American and Indian universities, national laboratories, and private sector researchers in advanced materials research and development.
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