India and US launch strategic trade dialogue

• India and the United States have launched a strategic trade dialogue in Washington during which officials reviewed the ongoing cooperation in multilateral export control regimes and agreed to share the best practices to further the bilateral ties.

• The India-US Strategic Trade Dialogue is a key mechanism to take forward the strategic technology and trade collaborations envisaged under the India-US initiative on Critical and Emerging Technologies (iCET). 

• The meeting took place ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s maiden state visit to the US at the invitation of President Joe Biden. Modi will be visiting the US from June 21 to 24.

India-US initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET)

• In May 2022, PM Narendra Modi and US President Joe Biden announced the India-US initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET) to elevate and expand strategic technology partnership and defence industrial cooperation between the governments, businesses, and academic institutions of our two countries. 

• Co-led by the National Security Council Secretariat in India and the US National Security Council, iCET would forge closer linkages between government, academia and industry of the two countries in areas such as AI, quantum computing, 5G/6G, biotech, space and semiconductors.

• On January 31, 2023, the two national security advisers led the inaugural meeting of the iCET in Washington, DC.

• The two countries have identified areas of cooperation which would include co-development and co-production, that would gradually be expanded to Quad, then to NATO, followed by Europe and the rest of the world. 

• The objective is to provide cutting edge technologies to the rest of the world which are affordable.

• In that way both India and the US complement each other, given their technical know-how, ongoing research and their availability of a large talent pool of Indians, a large number of whom come to the US every year for studies.

• Under iCET, India is ready to share its core technologies with the US and expects Washington to do the same.

• The two countries working in tandem with each other and developing a trusted partnership ecosystem is going to be a win-win-situation for both and also for global good.

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