Faced with a growing threat from China at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and in cyberspace, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and his American counterpart Jake Sullivan held a series of meetings in the US over taking their partnership to the field of critical and emerging technologies, thereby working closely with the private sector to remove barriers and enhance India's military preparedness, ABP Live has learnt.
During his meetings with the US NSA and also with General Mark Milley, US’ chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Doval exhorted the Americans to "convert intentions and ideas into actions and specific deliverables through focused steps in a time bound manner," a top source told ABP Live.
The 'Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technologies', also called iCET, was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Joe Biden on the sidelines of the Quad summit in May 2022.
At that time, both the leaders had decided that the iCET initiative would be headed by both the NSA in order to "expand partnership in critical and emerging technologies", according to a White House readout issued in May 2022.
In order to kickstart the process, both NSAs met representatives from the military as well as private firms to chalk out a roadmap that seeks to join six of India's "Technology Innovation Hubs" to support at least 25 joint research projects in areas such as artificial intelligence and data science to advance progress in applications such as agriculture, health and climate.
According to the source, both sides are also planning to hold an inaugural "Defence Artificial Intelligence Dialogue" early this year in an effort to forge closer ties in cyber training and joint exercises of the forces.
The decision to launch this dialogue was taken during the last US-India 2+2 format talks that was held between Minister of Defence Rajnath Singh and Minister of External Affairs S Jaishankar along with US Secretary of Defence Lloyd J Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken in April last year.
All these are expected to enhance India’s military preparedness even as it faces growing threats from China at the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
'Trusted Partner Ecosystem'
NSAs Doval and Sullivan met a wide range of American firms under the aegis of the US Chamber of Commerce. Both the NSAs were also joined by US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo.
According to a statement by the Indian Embassy in the US, both sides held a detailed discussion on building a "trusted partner ecosystem".
The talks that were held between Doval, Sullivan and Raimondo to give a practical shape to the US-India iCET were “insightful”, India’s Ambassador to the US Taranjit Singh Sandhu said in a tweet.
Addressing an industry roundtable hosted by the US Chamber of Commerce, NSA Sullivan said the iCET is "much more than technology cooperation” and that “it is a platform to accelerate our strategic convergence and policy alignment".
Sullivan added that the United States and Indian governments want to establish a list of firsts, such as first in removing barriers on both sides to make it easier for the two countries to strategically align their respective technologies, said a statement issued by the US Chamber of Commerce.
It also said, "NSA Ajit Doval and Ambassador Sandhu highlighted India’s remarkable capacity for technology development and absorption, and emphasized India’s use of technology not only as an enabler of economic growth but as an instrument of social inclusion."
"Both officials commended the launch of the iCET, given the natural complementary strengths of the Indian and American economies and the growing strategic convergence between both nations," the statement noted.
It also added, "Both officials also emphasized India’s growing role as a trusted supply chain partner and contributor in the global technology value chain, and underlined the importance of easing export control measures to facilitate technology access, co-production, and co-development between India and the US."
During the meeting, Rajan Mittal, Vice Chairman and Managing Director of Bharti Enterprises, said, "iCET successfully deliberated on the deployment of Open RAN (Radio Access Network) technology for 5G to create trusted sources, trusted networks, and trusted partners."