Ajit Doval said he is optimistic about more specific and tangible results in the near future
New Delhi:
National Security Advisor Ajit Doval called the future of the India-US Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technologies (iCET) “very bright”, saying it will become one of the crucial pillars in India-US bilateral strategic partnership.
Speaking at the Roundtable on Advancing India-US iCET hosted today by CII in New Delhi, Doval said significant progress has been made in several areas and the two nations have moved in the right direction.
“We have been able to jump-start the Indo-US Quantum Coordination Mechanism, signed a MoU on semiconductors, the public-private dialogue on telecom involving stakeholders from government, industry and academia to promote open collaboration in Open RAN, 5G and 6G has started, detailed dialogue on biotech is being held, important exchanges on AI have taken place and there is positive momentum among the defense and space pillars,” he said.
Adding further, Doval said he is optimistic that more specific and tangible results will be achieved in the near future.
NSA Doval also said the two nations have established a strategic trade dialogue, noting that it will serve as a platform to address regulatory barriers and export control issues.
“iCET is not just a government-to-government agreement, but a collaborative initiative of industry, academia, research institutions and think tanks, all of whom are making a common effort to take India and the US into a higher orbit, an orbital leap to our strategic relationships, where we are able to build technology capabilities and capitalize on opportunities,” he noted.
The NSA said the interest in iCET from industry, companies, scientists, researchers and institutions is encouraging and confidence-building.
Earlier today, Jake Sullivan also addressed the iCET meeting in the national capital, highlighting how iCET is more than just technology.
He said: “It’s about relationships between people, building the skills of our people, building trust between societies and governments, and deepening our defense cooperation, in ways that will benefit us both strategically and economically.”
US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan will make an official visit to New Delhi from June 13 to 14, at the invitation of Ajit Doval. The two NSAs have had regular in-depth meetings on a wide range of bilateral, regional and international issues.
US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, who is on a two-day visit to India, met his Indian counterpart Ajit Doval on Tuesday and discussed regional and global issues of mutual concern.
Sullivan will be accompanied on his visit by a delegation of senior U.S. government officials and leaders of U.S. industry. His visit to the national capital comes ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s upcoming state visit to the US.
The two national security advisers had limited talks earlier today to discuss topics of common concern. Later, both of them attended the second Track 1.5 lecture on it, which was organized by the Confederation of Indian Industry.
Speaking at the Delhi meeting, the US NSA said US President Joe Biden is excited to see what is happening here and see how things unfold.
As we look ahead to Prime Minister Modi’s state visit to Washington next week, some of the results of that visit are not just bullet points on a page, they are essentially designed to remove barriers in defense and high-ranking positions. technology trade and removing obstacles that prevented better collaboration between our scientists and researchers,” he said.
The first edition of this dialogue was hosted by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Washington, DC on January 30 this year, according to the State Department press release.
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