India and the United States (US) held the inaugural meeting of the Critical and Emerging Technology initiative (iCET) yesterday in Washington DC. Different areas of bilateral cooperation within the technology sector were identified.
What’s iCET? India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Joe-Biden announced it last May. The objective: “to elevate and expand our strategic technology partnership and defense industrial cooperation between the governments, businesses, and academic institutions of our two countries”.
And what does the CET in iCET mean? According to the US government, “critical and emerging technologies .. are a subset of advanced technologies that are potentially significant to U.S. national security”. They include advanced computing, artificial intelligence (AI), autonomous systems and robotics, communication and networking technologies, financial technologies, quantum information technologies, and semiconductor technologies, among others.
Why does this matter? Is this just about technology collaborations? Not entirely. As is always the case with international deals, there’s some amount of normative chest-thumping involved too—and this tells us about how geopolitical alliances shape up around technology. Both India and the US believe that technology should be designed, governed, and used based on the countries’ “shared democratic values and respect for universal human rights”, said a White House press release. The subtext: India and the US are committed to “an open, accessible, and secure technology ecosystem”, unlike some ‘other’ countries. As the US National Security Advisor noted, “the framework won’t be solely driven by the geopolitical challenge China poses, but .. Beijing’s aggressive military moves and economic practices have had ‘a profound impact on the thinking in Delhi’ and other capitals around the world”.
What objectives will the countries be delivering on? Lots of areas of cooperation were identified during the meeting:
- Strengthening innovation ecosystems: A new partnership will expand international research collaborations in areas like artificial intelligence, quantum technologies, and advanced wireless. A separate coordination mechanism will involve industry, academia, and government to research and collaboration for quantum technologies. Both countries will co-develop “consensus, multi-stakeholder standards” for trustworthy AI in line with “democratic values”. Collaborations on High Performance Computing (HPC) are also on the cards, including “working with [the US] Congress to lower barriers to U.S. exports to India of HPC technology and source code”.
- Defence: A new bilateral roadmap will shape joint cooperation on the development and production of defence technologies, including “jet engines, munition-related technologies, and other systems”. Also on the cards: long-term research and development particularly “on identifying maritime security and intelligence surveillance reconnaissance (ISR) operational use cases”. An “Innovation Bridge” will connect defence start-ups between the two countries.
- Telecommunications: A “public-private” dialogue on telecom and related regulations will be set up. The countries also committed to cooperating on research and development on 5G and 6G, adopting “Open RAN” in India, and “fostering global economies of scale within the sector”.
What’s next?: The next iCET meeting will happen in New Delhi later this year. “The National Security Councils of both countries will coordinate with their respective ministries, departments and agencies to work with their counterparts to advance cooperation, and to engage with stakeholders to deliver on ambitious objectives ahead of the next meeting,” adds the press release.
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