India joins US-led initiative to construct safe expertise provide chains | EUROtoday

India joined a U.S.-led initiative to strengthen expertise cooperation amongst strategic allies in a transfer Friday that underscores the nations’ warming ties after a quick pressure over New Delhi’s unabated buy of discounted Russian oil.

The choice aligns India intently with Washington’s efforts to construct safe provide chains for semiconductors, superior manufacturing and significant applied sciences at a time geopolitical competitors with China is intensifying. It additionally indicators a reset in relations following friction over power commerce and tariffs.

Nations which have joined the Pax Silica framework embrace Japan, South Korea, the U.Okay. and Israel.

“Pax Silica will likely be a bunch of countries that imagine expertise ought to empower free folks and free markets. India’s entry into Pax Silica isn’t simply symbolic. Its strategic, its important,” U.S. Ambassador Sergio Gor mentioned in a speech previous the settlement signing.

Pax Silica is geared toward strengthening cooperation amongst accomplice international locations on semiconductor design, fabrication, analysis and provide chain resilience. The initiative seeks to cut back dependence on China-dominated manufacturing hubs whereas selling trusted manufacturing networks throughout democracies and strategic allies.

The growth on the synthetic intelligence summit in New Delhi comes weeks after India and the U.S. reached an interim commerce framework to cut back tariffs and grant higher entry to one another’s markets, easing tensions that had threatened to sluggish bilateral momentum.

President Donald Trump introduced earlier this month that the U.S. would decrease reciprocal import tariffs on India from 25% to 18% and likewise take away the extra 25% levy imposed earlier for getting Russian crude after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi agreed to cease it.

India had ramped up Russian oil imports after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, drawing criticism from western companions whilst New Delhi defended the purchases as essential to handle inflation and defend its customers.

India’s entry into Pax Silica, mixed with commerce concessions, marks a strategic convergence that extends past commerce into long-term expertise and safety cooperation, reinforcing India’s position as a key U.S. accomplice within the Indo-Pacific.

“From the trade deal to Pax Silica to defense cooperation, the potential for our two nations to work together is truly limitless,” Gor mentioned.