India’s National Security Advisor (NSA) Shri Ajit Doval and the United States’ (US) National Security Advisor (APNSA) H.E. Mr. Jake Sullivan chaired a review meeting of the India-U.S. initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET) on 17 June 2024 at Hyderabad House, New Delhi.
They took stock of the significant strides made by India and the US toward deepening and expanding strategic cooperation across key technology sectors including space, semiconductors, advanced telecommunications, artificial intelligence, quantum, STEM, biotechnology, critical minerals and clean energy.
They also recognized the immense potential that is yet to be explored and harnessed in terms of deeper technology cooperation between the two countries in these sectors.
Other participants in the meeting from the Indian side included the Principal Scientific Advisor, the Deputy NSA for Strategic Affairs, Secretaries of the Ministries of Electronics and Information Technology, New and Renewable Energy, Pharmaceuticals, Mines, Space and Science & Technology, and Joint Secretaries from the Departments of Higher Education, Biotechnology, Telecommunications and Ministry of External Affairs.
Participants in the meeting from the US side included the Deputy Secretary of State, Director of the National Science Foundation (NSF), and senior representatives from the US National Security Council, Department of Energy, NASA, NSF and USAID.
Both sides discussed the way forward to further facilitate mutual collaboration and address outstanding barriers in trade, technology, and industrial cooperation.
In addition to the G2G iCET meeting, NSA Doval and APNSA Sullivan convened an industry roundtable on 18 June 2024 through the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), that brought together industry leaders from both countries, as India and the US seek to mobilize private sector investment and partnerships across strategic technology sectors.
US industry had representation from Thayer Mahan, General Atomics, Jeh Aerospace, Holtec, Cummins, Alsym Energy and Axiom Space. Indian industry leaders included representatives from 3rdiTech, BHEL, Bharat Forge, Bharti Airtel, Bhukhanvala Industries, Centum Electronics, L&T, Tata Advanced Systems, Tata Power and Tejas Network.
The industry enlightened the NSAs on their experiences thus far in terms of their bilateral collaboration, their vision on how to take the collaboration forward, and specific areas where Government facilitation can play a key role in addressing particular barriers to unshackle further collaboration.
