India, US National Security Advisors Launch Talks On Critical And Emerging Tech

National Security Advisor Ajit Doval met with his American counterpart Jake Suvillian and launched the US-India initiative on Critical and Emerging Technologies (iCET) - a dialogue which was announced last year.

National Security Councils of both countries are running the iCET -- an initiative launched last year when Prime Minister Narendra Modi met US President Joseph Biden at the Quad meeting in Tokyo.

"Transforming vision into action! NSAs Ajit Doval & Jake Sullivan formally launched U.S.-India Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technologies (iCET). Announced by @narendramodi & @POTUS,iCET reflects conv.of strategic, commercial, and scientific approaches in the field of technology," the Indian Embassy in the US tweeted.

During the meeting, the two sides also reviewed ongoing bilateral initiatives, the upcoming launch of the Initiative on iCET, and shared assessments of major global and regional developments.

"The purpose of this initiative is to elevate and expand strategic technology partnership and defence industrial cooperation between the governments, businesses, and academic institutions of the two countries," a senior government official said.

"India and the United States affirm that the ways in which technology is designed, developed, governed, and used should be shaped by their shared democratic values and respect for universal human rights," the White House said in an official statement.

The Oval Office said that both officials also noted the value of establishing 'innovation bridges' in key sectors, including expos, hackathons, and pitch sessions, and identified the fields of biotechnology, advanced materials, and rare earth processing technology as areas for future cooperation.

They signed a new Implementation Arrangement for a Research Agency Partnership between the National Science Foundation and Indian science agencies to expand international collaboration in a range of areas -- including artificial intelligence, quantum technologies, and advanced wireless -- to build a robust innovation ecosystem between the two countries.

Later, the world's largest business organisation, US Chamber's entity US-India Business Council (USIBC), serving as the voice of the industry in the US-India corridor, hosted a roundtable meeting of representatives of various industries, academia, and thought leaders in the presence of the National Security Advisor (NSA) of India Ajit Doval and his US counterpart Jake Sullivan. 

During the meeting, NSA Ajit Doval and Ambassador of India to the United States, Taranjit Singh Sandhu, highlighted the need to convert intentions and ideas into actions and specific deliverables through focused steps in a time-bound manner. The two sides are said to have discussed alternatives for the supply of semiconductors and microchips.

Interestingly, the meetings in Washington coincided with US Undersecretary of State Victoria Nuland's visit to Delhi on Tuesday, where she met External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra, in interactions that will set the stage for visits by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in March, followed by President Biden in September, both for G-20 events.

Mr Modi and Mr Biden are also due to meet at the G-7 meeting of developed countries -- where India is a special invitee -- to be held in Hiroshima in May, and at the Quad summit to be held in Sydney, also this summer.