In a significant step towards bolstering the bilateral cooperation between India and the US, National Security Adviser Ajit Doval met with his US counterpart Jake Sullivan, in New Delhi on Monday. Both the leaders issued a joint statement after their meeting. The meeting marks the continued deepening of ties between the two nations, focusing on defence, cybersecurity, and space cooperation.
A key highlight of the discussions was a briefing by NSA Sullivan on the Biden administration’s updates to US missile export control policies under the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR). These changes are expected to significantly boost U.S. commercial space cooperation with India, fostering greater collaboration in space technology and defence sectors.
Further reinforcing the growing strategic partnership, NSA Sullivan also announced efforts to finalize steps to delist Indian nuclear entities from U.S. sanctions, a move aimed at advancing civil nuclear cooperation. This shift will not only support peaceful nuclear initiatives but also strengthen resilient clean energy supply chains, a crucial aspect of both nations' future energy strategies.
The high-level talks also covered various areas of mutual interest, including Artificial Intelligence, Quantum Computing, Telecommunications, and Maritime Security. This visit comes as part of the ongoing India-US Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technologies (iCET), launched in May 2022 during the Quad Summit.
"Following the launch of the India-US Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technologies (iCET) by Prime Minister Modi and President Joseph Biden on the sidelines of the Quad Summit in Tokyo on May 24, 2022, the two NSAs have driven concrete initiatives between the two countries across a range of areas including Artificial Intelligence, Quantum Computing, Semiconductors, Telecommunications, Defence and Space," the release said.
At an event at IIT Delhi earlier in the day, Sullivan said that United States is now finalizing the necessary steps to remove long-standing regulations that have prevented civil nuclear cooperation between India's leading nuclear entities and US Companies.
Sullivan also said his visit to India is likely the last trip overseas that he will lead as NSA and he cannot think of a better way to end his tenure in the White House.
"Although former President Bush and former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh laid out a vision of civil nuclear cooperation nearly 20 years ago, we have yet to fully realize it. But as we work to build clean energy technologies to enable growth in artificial intelligence, and to help US and Indian energy companies unlock their innovation potential, the Biden administration has determined that it is past time to take the next major step in cementing this partnership," he said.
"So today I can announce that the United States is now finalizing the necessary steps to remove long-standing regulations that have prevented civil nuclear cooperation between India's leading nuclear entities and US Companies. The formal paperwork will be done soon but this will be an opportunity to turn the page on some of the frictions of the past and create opportunities for entities that have been on restricted lists in the United States to come off those lists and enter into deep collaboration with the United States, with our private sector, scientists and technologists to move civil nuclear cooperation forward together," he added.
(With inputs from agencies)
