WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 06th February, 2023) Top US and Indian government officials during talks in Washington agreed to launch task forces to strengthen cooperation in a variety of areas including human spaceflight, weapons production, microchip supply chains, and rare earth development, the White House said in a statement.
The announcement came after the the inaugural meeting of the US-India initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET) launched by President Joe Biden and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in May of last year.
"The two sides discussed opportunities for greater cooperation in critical and emerging technologies, co-development and coproduction, and ways to deepen connectivity across our innovation ecosystems... They also identified the fields of biotechnology, advanced materials, and rare earth processing technology as areas for future cooperation," the release said on Tuesday.
The US and India, the release added, committed to developing a new bilateral Defense Industrial Cooperation Roadmap with an initial focus on exploring projects related to jet engines, munitions, and other systems.
In addition to boosting commercial space engagement, the two sides aim to build resilient semiconductor supply chains, according to the release, and supporting design and manufacturing of microchips in India.
"This task force will make recommendations... to further strengthen India's role within the global semiconductor value chain," the White House said.
The first meeting was led by US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and Indian National Security Advisor Ajit Doval. They were joined by several senior diplomats and defense, commerce and science officials.
