India on Friday signed a declaration to join a US-led strategic alliance ‘Pax Silica’, aimed at strengthening resilient supply chains for critical minerals and artificial intelligence while countering China’s dominance in rare earths.
The declaration was signed at the ongoing India AI Impact Summit in New Delhi, marking India’s formal entry into a framework designed to build a secure, resilient, and innovation-driven supply chain for critical minerals and AI. The initiative seeks to enhance technological cooperation and ensure secure access to key resources essential for next-generation industries.
The move comes amid efforts by New Delhi and Washington to finalise a proposed trade deal and advance several other initiatives to deepen bilateral ties following a period of strain in relations.
“India has become a part of the Pax Silica. This will greatly benefit India’s electronics and semiconductor industry. Ten plants are already established in India and are in the process of being established, and very soon, the first semiconductor plant will begin commercial production. A complete ecosystem is emerging in India. Pax Silica will be crucial for this, and the youth of India will benefit from it,” Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology, Ashwini Vaishnaw, said after signing the pact.
Describing the initiative as a strategic coalition between India and the United States to shape the 21st-century economic and technological order, US Ambassador Sergio Gor said India’s participation was “strategic and essential”, citing its engineering talent, progress in mineral processing, and role in strengthening US-India technology cooperation. The partnership aims to advance trusted AI globally, emphasising that “peace comes through strength,” he said.
On the trade deal that both countries have already finalised, Gor said, “The signing will happen very soon”.
“In fact, even this week, we have both teams talking to each other and actively getting to a place where both will be able to sign. But the reality is there are tens of thousands of ways that we’re not dealing with a small country. This is one of the biggest economies. And so we’re thrilled that the interim deal is done. You have a few tweaking points that are left to do, but it’s done. So the signing will happen sooner than later,” he said.
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