iCET Historic Beginning In US-India Cooperation In Technology, Says Indian Envoy To US

Indian ambassador to the US Taranjit Singh Sandhu said that iCET is a further development in the increasing number of areas of cooperation between India and the US.

New Delhi: Indian ambassador to the United States Taranjit Singh Sandhu said that iCET is a historic beginning in the US-India cooperation in technology adding that such areas of work have increased under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Joe Biden.

While talking to the news agency ANI, Sandhu said that the India-US ties strengthened after Prime Minister Modi's first visit to the foreign nation in 2014. He said that ever since the President Joe Biden administration has come into power, there has been a lot of interaction between the two leaders.

Sandhu said that areas of cooperation have widened between India and the US and have reached sectors like healthcare, technology, and innovation and iCET is a further development of the same.

He said that with iCET, US and India are looking at each other as trusted partners. The ambassador also hailed the iCET initiative for bringing together not only the administration but the scientific community, industry and academia of both countries together.

iCET is a historic beginning that provides a platform to both sides to move ahead together in technology, Sandhu told ANI.

Earlier, the White House said that US President Joe Biden believes that the India-US initiative on Critical and Emerging Technologies, or iCET, is key for the two countries to create a democratic technology ecosystem, reported PTI.

iCET, which is being billed as the “Next Big Thing” in the India-US relationship, was launched by national security advisors Jake Sullivan from the US and Ajit K Doval from India at the White House here on Tuesday.

“The President believes this initiative is key for the US and India to create a democratic technology ecosystem and reinforces our democratic values and our democratic institutions. So, we see this as an incredibly important initiative and a partnership that we have with India,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters at her daily news conference.

iCET was being launched at the direction of Biden and Prime Minister Narendra Modi who after their Tokyo meeting in May 2022 had announced to elevate and expand the strategic technology partnership and defense industrial cooperation between the governments, businesses and academic institutions of the two countries.