Washington: The Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technologies (iCET) will accelerate America’s technology partnership and strategic convergence and policy alignment with India, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan has said ahead of the inaugural high-level dialogue between the two countries.
Sullivan and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval are scheduled to meet at the White House Tuesday along with their respective high-powered delegations for the inaugural iCET dialogue.
Announced during US President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s bilateral talks in Tokyo in May last year, the iCET is spearheaded by the National Security Councils of both countries.
It focuses on strengthening the US-India partnership on the technologies that will drive global growth, bolster both countries’ economic competitiveness, and protect shared national security interests.
“iCET is about much more than technology cooperation, it’s a platform to accelerate our strategic convergence and policy alignment,” Sullivan said Monday at a high-level round table organised by US India Business Council (USIBC) of the US Chambers of Commerce, which was also attended by his Indian counterpart National Security Advisor Doval.
During the round table, attended among others by Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, Sullivan highlighted the work ahead for both governments.
Sullivan said the US and Indian governments want to establish a “list of firsts”, “firsts in removing barriers-on both sides-to enable greater ambition by all of you.”
“Secretary of Commerce @GinaRaimondo and NSAs Ajit Doval and Jake Sullivan @JakeSullivan46 met reps from industry, academia & thought leaders at RoundTable on Critical and Emerging Technologies hosted by USIBC @USChamber. Detailed disc.On building an India-US trusted partner ecosystem,” Indian embassy in the US tweeted.
Sullivan highlighted how iCET will accelerate the US’ strategic technology partnership with India and advance the two countries’ shared democratic values. He also recognised the pivotal role that businesses, educators, and investors play and urged the attendees to be ambitious in deepening bilateral business and academic ties.
He asserted that he would work with Doval to remove barriers on both sides.
Doval highlighted the need to convert intentions and ideas into actions and specific deliverables through focused steps in a time-bound manner.
In their remarks, Doval and India’s Ambassador to India Taranjit Singh Sandhu highlighted India’s remarkable capacity for technology development and absorption and emphasised India’s use of technology not only as an enabler of economic growth but as an instrument of social inclusion.
Both Doval and Sandhu commended the launch of the iCET, given the natural complementary strengths of the Indian and American economies and the growing strategic convergence between the two countries.
They also emphasised India’s growing role as a trusted supply chain partner and contributor in the global technology value chain.
Doval and Sandhu underlined the importance of easing export control measures to facilitate technology access, co-production, and co-development between India and the US, according to a USIBC statement.
PTI