Eye on China, India and US to deepen ties on defence, AI, quantum computing, space
In what is seen as the new frontier of cooperation with an eye on China, India and the United States have decided to deepen their cooperation in the fields of defense, artificial intelligence, quantum technologies , high-performance computing, co-production of jet engines, semiconductor supply chains, manned spaceflight, commercial space launches, telecommunications technologies including 6G.
These are the main takeaways from the meeting between National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and US NSA Jake Sullivan in Washington DC over the past two days. The two NSAs met for the first meeting of the US-India Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technologies (iCET), which was decided between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Joe Biden in May 2022 on the sidelines of the Quad meeting in Tokyo.
The list of new initiatives is as follows:
📌 A new bilateral defense industrial cooperation roadmap to accelerate technology cooperation for the joint development and production of jet engines and ammunition-related technologies.
📌 The United States has received a request from General Electric to jointly produce jet engines that could power jet aircraft operated and produced by India. “The United States is committed to expeditiously considering the license application submitted by M/s General Electric to produce jet engines in India for locally manufactured light combat aircraft,” the Indian statement said.
📌 Long-term research and development cooperation, with a focus on identifying operational use cases for maritime security and intelligence surveillance reconnaissance.
📌 A new “Innovation Bridge” that will connect US and Indian defense startups.
📌 Collaboration on High Performance Computing (HPC), including working with the US Congress to reduce barriers to US exports to India of HPC technology and source code.
📌 A new implementation agreement for a research agency partnership between the National Science Foundation and Indian science agencies to expand international collaboration in a range of fields, including artificial intelligence, quantum technologies and technology advanced wireless.
📌 Joint Indo-US Quantum Coordination Mechanism with industry, academia and government participation to facilitate research and industry collaboration.
📌 Collaboration on resilient semiconductor supply chains; support the development of a semiconductor design, manufacturing and fabrication ecosystem in India.
📌 A task force organized by the US Semiconductor Industry Association in partnership with the India Electronics Semiconductor Association with the participation of the Government of India Semiconductor Mission to develop a “Readiness Assessment” to identify opportunities the industry and to facilitate the longer-term strategic development of complementary semiconductor ecosystems.
📌 Cooperation on manned spaceflight, including establishing exchanges that will include advanced training for an Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) or the Space Astronaut Department of NASA’s Johnson Space Center.
📌 New STEM talent exchanges by expanding the Professional Engineers and Scientists Exchange Program (PESEP) to include Space Science, Earth Science and Human Spaceflight.
📌 Strengthen commercial space partnership, including through a new initiative led by the US Department of Commerce and the Indian Department of Space under the Joint US-India Civil Space Task Force. This initiative will foster U.S.-Indian commercial space engagement and enable growth and partnerships between the U.S. and Indian commercial space sectors.
📌 Advance research and development cooperation in 5G and 6G, facilitate deployment and adoption of Open RAN in India, and foster global economies of scale within the industry.
📌 Launch a public-private dialogue on telecommunications and regulation.
📌 A new joint task force of the Association of American Universities and leading Indian educational institutions, including the Indian Institutes of Technology, which will make recommendations for research and academic partnerships.
A White House statement said, “The United States and India affirm that the way technology is designed, developed, governed, and used should be shaped by our shared democratic values and respect for human rights. universal. We are committed to fostering an open, accessible and secure technology ecosystem, based on mutual trust, which will strengthen our democratic values and our democratic institutions.
He also said that the two countries are looking forward to the next iCET meeting in New Delhi in 2023. The National Security Councils of the two countries will coordinate with their respective ministries, departments and agencies to advance cooperation and engage with stakeholders to achieve ambitious goals. of the next meeting, he said.
Besides meeting with NSA Sullivan, Doval also met with Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley, Acting Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks, key senators and industry leaders. He is due to meet US Secretary of State Antony Blinken later in the visit.
At the meetings, the NSA was accompanied by Indian Ambassador Taranjit Singh Sandhu; Chief Scientific Advisor Ajay Sood; G Satheesh Reddy, Scientific Advisor to the Minister of Defence; ISRO President, S Somanath; Telecommunications Secretary K Rajaraman; and NSCS officials.