India joins US-led Pax Silica coalition, signs joint statement on AI partnership

India is the 10th country to join the US-led initiative to secure global supply chains

Updated on: Feb 20, 2026, 23:22:05 IST

By Rezaul H Laskar

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India joins US-led Pax Silica coalition, signs joint statement on AI partnership to join the US-led Pax Silica initiative for secure global supply chains for AI technology and semiconductors, strengthening the bilateral tech partnership and reflecting the warming of ties after a year of strains over the trade policies of the Trump administration.

India joins Pax Silica

New Delhi was excluded when Washington launched the initiative last December to build resilient supply chains for semiconductors, advanced manufacturing and critical technologies amid intensified geopolitical competition with China. India became a signatory to the Pax Silica Declaration at an event on the margins of the AI Impact Summit, and also signed a joint statement on the “India-US AI Opportunity Partnership”.

Technology cooperation is a key pillar of the bilateral comprehensive global strategic partnership, and India’s participation in Pax Silica is a “significant step forward” that reinforces a shared commitment to trusted supply chains, the external affairs ministry said.

The documents were signed by electronics and IT secretary S Krishnan, US ambassador Sergio Gor and US under secretary of state for economic growth and energy, Jacob Helberg, in the presence of electronics and IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and the White House director of science and technology policy, Michael Kratsios.

Besides reducing over-concentration in global supply chains and preventing economic coercion, the development signalled a reset in India-US relations after the friction over tariffs and energy trade. It also followed an understanding on a trade deal, which led to President Donald Trump slashing tariffs on Indian exports to 18 % from 50%.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Rezaul H Laskar
Rezaul Hasan Laskar is Foreign Editor with the Hindustan Times, which he joined in 2015. He began as a journalist in his hometown of Shillong in northeast India and has worked in newspapers and wire services over the years. He moved to New Delhi in 1997 and initially focused on defence, national security, Jammu and Kashmir and the northeast, while also working of foreign policy and international relations. He has been part of the media delegation accompanying PMs on foreign visits and has reported from destinations ranging from Tibet to Ukraine. Between 2007 and 2013, he was the Press Trust of India correspondent in Pakistan, one of only two Indian journalists allowed to report from the country. He extensively covered Pakistan’s domestic politics and the life of the common people, as well as the fallout of the 2008 Mumbai attacks on India-Pakistan relations and the subsequent trial in Pakistan of the suspects involved in the attack. As part of his reportage in Pakistan, he travelled the breadth of the country, from the Swat Valley to Balochistan. Reza’s first gig in journalism was writing a weekly music column, and music – especially classic rock – remains a keen interest. He is also a movie buff and a keen photographer.Read More

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