During a bilateral meeting in Tokyo, a new India-US initiative on critical and emerging technologies has been launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Joe Biden. The two parties resolved to expand defence cooperation and welcomed the signing of an investment incentive agreement that will focus on healthcare, renewable energy, infrastructure and other sectors.
The meeting was in continuation of regular high-level dialogue between the two leaders who met in September 2021 in Washington DC and recently held a virtual interaction. The two leaders described defence and security cooperation as crucial pillars in the bilateral agenda and resolved to work closely in emerging technologies.
Being spearheaded by the National Security Council Secretariat in India and the US National Security Council, iCET, the initiative would work at forging links between the government, academia and industry in areas such as AI, quantum computing, 5G/6G, biotech, space and semiconductors.
The two nations committed to expanding cooperation in new defence domains including space, cyber and Artificial Intelligence. The two leaders welcomed the signing of the Investment Incentive Agreement that will enable the US Development Finance Corporation to support investments in India, particularly in healthcare, renewable energy, SMEs and infrastructure.
The PM also welcomed the launch of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) and the two leaders exchanged views on regional issues. Meanwhile, in the meeting with Japanese Prime Minister, the Indian Prime Minister discussed enhancing bilateral security and defence cooperation, including in the area of defence manufacturing.
