Sullivan, Doval unveil cooperation road map

India and the US on Tuesday unveiled a major initiative to drive cooperation in hi-tech across seven areas, ranging from artificial intelligence to semiconductors and defence, with the focus on removing barriers and export controls standing in the way of enhanced collaboration.

- Rezaul H Laskar

The move, spelled out by national security adviser (NSA) Ajit Doval and his visiting US counterpart Jake Sullivan, is part of the initiative on Critical and Emerging Technologies (iCET) launched in January and envisages closer cooperation between private industry, researchers and academia of the two sides. It is also part of efforts to focus on deliverables for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s state visit to the US next week.

Sullivan also met PM Modi and briefed him on progress in various areas of cooperation. He said US President Joe Biden looked forward to welcoming Modi on his state visit.

Modi expressed satisfaction at the deepening of the comprehensive global strategic partnership with the US, and said he looked forward to a “productive visit and an engaging conversation with President Biden on bilateral, regional and global issues”, according to a readout from the external affairs ministry.

Addressing a roundtable on the theme "Advancing India-US ICET" organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Doval highlighted the speed at which things had moved. "I was very excited, but I was also sceptical. I wasn't very sure whether the idea would be able to take off. Today, I am much more confident and hopeful. And it is because of not what has happened between the governments," he said.

"It's more because of the response [from] industry, business, scientists, research scholars [and] institutions. They took the battle, and they took the battle much faster, at much greater speed than I had anticipated."