National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and his US counterpart Jake Sullivan co-chaired the second meeting of the India-U.S. Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET) in New Delhi on Monday.
They committed to take concrete action in the coming months to address long-standing barriers to bilateral strategic trade, technology, and industrial cooperation, including in the commercial and civil space sector, according to a joint 'fact sheet' shared by the Indian government.
During the meeting, Doval and Sullivan set forth a vision for the next phase of strategic technology collaboration, with focus on co-production, co-development, and R&D opportunities to stay at the forefront of innovation. They also stressed enhanced coordination with like-minded nations to deliver secure, reliable, and cost-competitive technology solutions for the Indian and American people and their partners around the world.
The two NSAs resolved to support enhanced collaboration across the two governments, industry, and academia, with a particular focus on bridging the innovation ecosystems, reaching new heights in civilian and defence space technology cooperation, and securing semiconductor supply chains among others.
A major focus of the meeting was on bridging the innovation ecosystems of the two countries. To this end, over $90 million in funding was announced for the India-US Global Challenges Institute to support joint research in semiconductors, sustainable agriculture, clean energy, and health equity. Nearly $5 million in joint funding was announced for research projects in next-generation telecommunications, autonomous vehicles, and machine learning.
In space technology, the partnership achieved new milestones, including securing a carrier for the first joint NASA-ISRO astronaut mission to the International Space Station. The completion of the Strategic Framework for Human Spaceflight Cooperation was another highlight, enabling ISRO astronauts' training at NASA.
Discussions on India's acquisition of MQ-9B platforms and co-production of land warfare systems progressed, along with other initiatives outlined in the India-U.S. Roadmap for Defense Industrial Cooperation.
Telecommunications collaboration saw the finalisation of the India-U.S. Open RAN Acceleration Roadmap and ongoing 5G and 6G R&D collaborations. Initiatives by USAID and Qualcomm to deploy Open RAN technology in India were notable steps towards building robust and secure telecommunications networks.
Doval and Sullivan reiterated their commitment to overcoming barriers to bilateral trade, technology, and industrial cooperation. They also convened an industry roundtable with CEOs and thought leaders to further mobilise private sector investment in strategic technology sectors.
Building on the foundation established since its launch in January 2023, both nations have advanced their collaboration in key technology sectors including space, semiconductors, telecommunications, artificial intelligence, quantum, biotechnology, and clean energy.