US, India vow to increase defense, trade ties

The United States and India committed to increasing cooperation with each other on technology and defense innovation and said they would take steps to reduce “long-standing barriers” to bilateral strategic trade, according to a joint fact sheet released Monday.

The statement, approved by both governments, comes as national security adviser Jake Sullivan travels to India this week for the first high-profile meeting between officials in the two countries since Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi won reelection earlier this month.

Sullivan met with Ajit Doval, Indian national security adviser, Monday in New Delhi to co-chair the second meeting of the U.S.-India initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET), which they announced in 2022.

The statement touted progress on “deepening and expanding strategic cooperation across key technology sectors including space, semiconductors, advanced telecommunications, artificial intelligence, quantum, biotechnology, and clean energy.”

“Our work also continues to be anchored in a shared commitment to ensuring that technology is designed, developed and deployed in a manner consistent with our democratic values and respect for universal human rights, as well as a recognition that the future security and prosperity of the Indo-Pacific will hinge on the strength of the U.S.-India partnership,” according to the joint statement.

Sullivan and Doval said that going forward the countries will focus their technology innovation on “co-production, co-development, and research and development (R&D) opportunities” and will enhance coordination with other “like-minded nations.”  

They said in the coming months they will “take concrete action” to “address long-standing barriers to bilateral strategic trade, technology, and industrial cooperation, including in the commercial and civil space sector.”

Without naming countries specifically, the top national security officials said they would work to “prevent the leakage of sensitive and dual-use technologies to countries of concern.”

The trip comes as President Biden seeks to build on strategic ties between the countries, especially since Modi won his third term in office. The two countries identify China as a shared economic threat in the region.

“The friendship between our nations is only growing as we unlock a shared future of unlimited potential,” Biden said in a statement after Modi won the election, congratulating him on the win.

Modi, in turn, thanked his “friend President Joe Biden,” adding at the time he deeply values “his warm words of felicitations and his appreciation for the Indian democracy.”

The relationship between the two countries faced a potential stress test recently, after the U.S. government accused an unidentified Indian government official of hiring Indian national Nikhil Gupta to orchestrate a plot to kill a Sikh separatist leader on American soil. Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, who is also a U.S. citizen, is a vocal critic of the Indian government, which considers him a terrorist.

The assassination plot was foiled by U.S. officials, and Gupta was arrested last year in Prague. On Friday, Gupta was extradited from the Czech Republic to the United States to face charges of murder for hire and conspiracy to commit murder for hire, Czech Justice Minister Pavel Blažek said Monday.

A group of Democratic senators on Monday urged the State Department to increase pressure on the Indian government in response to “credible allegations” that it was involved in the assassination plot. They called for “strong diplomatic response to ensure that all of those who were involved are held accountable.”