India and the US discussed avenues for cooperation in building diversified and trusted supply chains ahead of the two-day Pax Silica Summit set to begin here on Thursday.
S Krishnan, Secretary, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), met Jacob Helberg, the US Under Secretary of State and host of the Pax Silica initiative, on Wednesday. The initiative aims at strengthening the security of supply chains in key technology sectors.
"MeitY Secretary S Krishnan met with US Under Secretary of State Jacob S Helberg to deepen bilateral technological cooperation," the Indian embassy in the US said on X.
"They discussed avenues for cooperation in building diversified and trusted supply chains, particularly in semiconductor manufacturing, AI adoption, and securing access to critical minerals," the embassy said.
Krishnan is here to attend the second Pax Silica Summit, which will see participation from member nations that are signatories to the framework exploring alternative pathways to secure access to critical minerals a sector currently dominated by China.
The first Pax Silica Summit was held last December. India joined the initiative in February on the sidelines of the AI Impact Summit in New Delhi.
The initiative is not a trade agreement, but rather a pact for economic and military security, which will depend increasingly on who controls the artificial intelligence value chain and how.
At its core are semiconductors and critical minerals resources that have become increasingly central to economic competitiveness and national security.
The initiative reflects a broader effort by the United States and its partners to reduce dependence on China in industries considered vital to the future global economy.
