India signs agreement to join US-led coalition Pax Silica

• India joined the US-led Pax Silica initiative by becoming a signatory to the Pax Silica Declaration at a special event held on the margins of the AI Impact Summit in New Delhi on February 20.

• India also signed a joint statement on the ‘India-US AI Opportunity Partnership’ as a bilateral addendum to the Declaration.

What is Pax Silica?

• Pax Silica is the US Department of State’s flagship effort on AI and supply chain security, advancing new economic security consensus among allies and trusted partners.

• It is a strategic initiative to build a secure, prosperous, and innovation driven silicon supply chain — from critical minerals and energy inputs to advanced manufacturing, semiconductors, AI infrastructure, and logistics.

• “Pax Silica” draws from the Latin ‘pax’ — meaning peace, stability, and long-term prosperity. 

• ‘Silica’ refers to the compound that is refined into silicon, one of the chemical elements foundational to the computer chips that enable artificial intelligence.

• Pax Silica seeks to establish a durable economic order that underwrites an AI-driven era of prosperity across partner countries.

• Rooted in deep cooperation with trusted partners, Pax Silica aims to reduce coercive dependencies, protect the materials and capabilities foundational to artificial intelligence, and ensure aligned nations can develop and deploy transformative technologies at scale.

• On December 12, 2025, the US convened the inaugural Pax Silica Summit marking the beginning of a new golden era of cooperation on AI and supply chain security. 

• The Summit brought together counterparts from eight countries with the most cutting-edge AI supply chain ecosystems.

• India is the tenth Pax Silica signatory. The country joins fellow signatories Australia, Israel, Japan, Qatar, South Korea, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom. Additional members are expected to follow.

How will it benefit India?

• Pax Silica seeks to build secure, resilient, and innovation-driven supply chains for technologies foundational to the AI era, particularly silicon and critical minerals that underpin semiconductors, advanced computing, and other high-technology systems.

• Pax Silica partners are building a new architecture that diffuses intelligence, placing the transformative power of AI in people’s hands and unlocking unprecedented possibilities.

• India’s entry into Pax Silica is both strategic and essential. India brings deep engineering and manufacturing capabilities, expanding capacity in critical mineral processing, and a strong trust factor, offering indispensable strengths to the coalition.

• The India-US Pax Silica Declaration is a critical step towards realising the ambitious vision Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Donald Trump outlined under the Transforming the Relationship Utilizing Strategic Technology (TRUST) initiative.

• The cooperation under Pax Silica would further deepen engagement on critical technologies and supply chain resilience under the India-US Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership.

• Technology cooperation remains one of the central pillars of the India-US Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership. 

• India’s joining the Pax Silica initiative marks a significant step forward in deepening bilateral collaboration in critical and emerging technologies and reinforces the shared commitment of both countries to resilient, trusted, and future-ready supply chains.