Washington DC [US], June 24 (ANI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Joe Biden have affirmed a vision of India and the United States as among the closest partners in the world with the two leaders noting that the bilateral cooperation will serve the global good. A joint statement during PM Modi‘s official State visit to the United States said the India-US Comprehensive Global and Strategic Partnership is anchored in a new level of trust and mutual understanding and enriched by the warm bonds of family and friendship “that inextricably link our countries together”.
“Prime Minister Modi and President Joe Biden today affirmed a vision of India and the United States as among the closest partners in the world – a partnership of democracies looking into the 21st century with hope, ambition, and confidence. No corner of human enterprise is untouched by the partnership between our two great countries, which spans the seas to the stars,” it said.
The two leaders said that together they will build “an even stronger, diverse India-US partnership that will advance the aspirations of our people for a bright and prosperous future grounded in respect for human rights, and shared principles of democracy, freedom, and the rule of law”. “Our cooperation will serve the global good as we work through a range of multilateral and regional groupings – particularly the Quad- to contribute toward a free, open, inclusive, and resilient Indo-Pacific,” the statement said.
The joint statement said that the document, in its breadth and depth, “represents the most expansive and comprehensive vision for progress in the history of our bilateral relationship.” “Still, our ambitions are to reach ever greater heights, and we commit both our governments and our peoples to this endeavour, now and into the future.”
PM Modi and President Biden affirmed that technology will play a defining role in deepening our partnership. The leaders hailed the inauguration of the Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET) in January 2023 as a major milestone in India-U.S relations.
They called on our governments, businesses, and academic institutions to realize their shared vision for the strategic technology partnership. The leaders recommitted the United States and India to fostering an open, accessible, and secure technology ecosystem, based on mutual confidence and trust that reinforces our shared values and democratic institutions.
The statement said that PM Modi and President Biden share a vision of creating secure and trusted telecommunications, resilient supply chains, and enabling global digital inclusion. “To fulfill this vision, the leaders launched two Joint Task Forces on advanced telecommunications, focused on Open RAN and research and development in 5G/6G technologies. Public-private cooperation between vendors and operators will be led by India’s Bharat 6G Alliance and the U.S. Next G Alliance,” the statement said.
“We are partnering on Open RAN field trials and rollouts, including scaled deployments, in both countries with operators and vendors of both markets, backed by US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) financing. The leaders welcomed the participation of Indian companies in the U.S. Rip and Replace Program. They endorsed an ambitious vision for 6G networks, including standards cooperation, facilitating access to chipsets for system development, and establishing joint research and development projects. Prime Minister Modi and President Biden also stressed the need to put in place a “Trusted Network/Trusted Sources” bilateral framework,” it added.
PM Modi and President Biden welcomed the establishment of a joint Indo-US Quantum Coordination Mechanism to facilitate collaboration among industry, academia, and government, and our work toward a comprehensive Quantum Information Science and Technology agreement. “The United States welcomes India’s participation in the Quantum Entanglement Exchange and in the Quantum Economic Development Consortium to facilitate expert and commercial exchanges with leading, like-minded quantum nations. The United States and India will sustain and grow quantum training and exchange programs and work to reduce barriers to India-US research collaboration,” the statement said.
The leaders welcomed the launch of a USD 2 million grant programme under the India-US Science and Technology Endowment fund for the joint development and commercialization of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and quantum technologies and encouraged public-private collaborations to develop high-performance computing (HPC) facilities in India.
President Biden also reiterated his government’s commitment to work with the US Congress to lower barriers to US exports to India of HPC technology and source code. The US side pledged to make its best efforts in support of India’s Center for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) joining the US Accelerated Data Analytics and Computing (ADAC) Institute.
The leaders welcomed 35 innovative joint research collaborations in emerging technologies funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Indian Department of Science and Technology (DST). Under a new implementation arrangement between NSF and DST, both sides will fund joint research projects in computer and information science and engineering, cyber-physical systems, and secure and trustworthy cyberspace.
The statement said NSF and India’s Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology will bring fresh funding for joint projects in applied research areas such as semiconductors, next-generation communication, cyber security, sustainability and green technologies and intelligent transportation systems.
PM Modi and President Biden acknowledged the profound opportunities and significant risks associated with AI. “They committed to developing joint and international collaboration on trustworthy and responsible AI, including generative AI, to advance AI education and workforce initiatives, promote commercial opportunities, and mitigate against discrimination and bias,” the statement said. The United States has also supported India’s leadership as Chair of the Global Partnership on AI.
The leaders applauded Google’s intent to continue investing through its USD 10 billion India Digitization Fund, including in early-stage Indian startups. Through its AI Research Center in India, Google is building models to support over 100 Indian languages.
PM Modi and President Biden hailed deepening bilateral cooperation on cutting-edge scientific infrastructure, including a USD140 million in-kind contribution from the Indian Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) to the US Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Fermi National Laboratory toward collaborative development of the Proton Improvement Plan-II Accelerator, for the Long-Baseline Neutrino Facility — the first and largest international research facility on U.S. soil.
They also welcomed the commencement of the construction of a Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) in India. The leaders called on their administrations to extend these partnerships to advanced biotechnology and biomanufacturing and enhance biosafety and biosecurity innovation, practices, and norms.
As global partners, the United States and India affirmed that the rules-based international order must be respected. They emphasized that the contemporary global order has been built on principles of the UN Charter, international law, and respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of states. “The United States and India reaffirmed their resolve to counter any attempts to unilaterally subvert the multilateral system. The leaders underscored the need to strengthen and reform the multilateral system so it may better reflect contemporary realities. In this context both sides remain committed to a comprehensive UN reform agenda, including through expansion in permanent and non-permanent categories of membership of the UN Security Council,” the statement said.
Sharing the view that global governance must be more inclusive and representative, President Biden reiterated U.S. support for India’s permanent membership in a reformed UN Security Council(UNSC).
President Biden welcomed India’s candidature as a non-permanent member of the UNSC for the 2028-29 term, in view of India’s significant contributions to the UN system and commitment to multilateralism, as well as its active and constructive engagement in the Inter-Governmental Negotiations process on Security Council reforms, with an overall objective of making the UNSC more effective, representative, and credible.
Prime Minister Modi and President Biden recommitted themselves to empowering the Quad as a partnership for global good. The Quad to be hosted in India in 2024 would be another opportunity to continue the dialogue and consolidate cooperation, the statement said.
The leaders also welcomed the depth and pace of enhanced consultations between the two governments on regional issues including South Asia, the Indo-Pacific and East Asia and looked forward to governments holding an inaugural Indian Ocean Dialogue in 2023.
The two leaders reiterated their enduring commitment to a free, open, inclusive, peaceful, and prosperous India-Pacific region with respect for territorial integrity and sovereignty, and international law. Both leaders expressed concern over coercive actions and rising tensions, and strongly oppose destabilizing or unilateral actions that seek to change the status quo by force. Both sides emphasized the importance of adherence to international law, particularly as reflected in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), and the maintenance of freedom of navigation and overflight, in addressing challenges to the maritime rules-based order, including in the East and South China Seas. (ANI)
