New Delhi/Washington, June 23 (UNI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Joe Biden focused their talks on trade, critical tech, including semiconductors, defence, supply chains, space and “empowering the Quad”. They also discussed Ukraine and the Indo-Pacific.
A joint statement released after the talks said the two leaders “affirmed a vision of the India and United States as among the closest partners in the world – a partnership of democracies looking into the 21st century with hope, ambition, and confidence”.
The two leaders affirmed that technology will play a defining role in deepening the partnership, and hailed the inauguration of the Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET) in January 2023 as a major milestone in ties.
They hailed the signing of an MoU on Semiconductor Supply Chain and Innovation Partnership as a significant step in the coordination of our countries’ semiconductor incentive programs. The leaders welcomed an announcement by Micron Technology, Inc., to invest up to $825 million to build a new semiconductor assembly and test facility in India with support from the Indian government. The combined investment valued at $2.75 billion would create up to 5,000 new direct and 15,000 community jobs opportunities in next five years.
The leaders also welcomed Lam Research’s proposal to train 60,000 Indian engineers through its Semiverse Solution virtual fabrication platform to accelerate India’s semiconductor education and workforce development goals, and an announcement by Applied Materials, Inc., to invest $400 million to establish a collaborative engineering center in India, it said.
To fulfil the vision of creating secure and trusted telecommunications, resilient supply chains, and enabling global digital inclusion, 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.
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.
The two leaders welcomed the establishment of a joint Indo-U.S. Quantum Coordination Mechanism to facilitate collaboration among industry, academia, and government, and work toward a comprehensive Quantum Information Science and Technology agreement. They welcomed the launch of a $2million grant program under the India-U.S 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 U.S. Congress to lower barriers to U.S. exports to India of HPC technology and source code. The U.S. side pledged to make its best efforts in support of India’s Center for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) joining the U.S. Accelerated Data Analytics and Computing (ADAC) Institute, it said.
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).
They hailed the deepening bilateral cooperation on cutting-edge scientific infrastructure, including a $140 million in-kind contribution from the Indian Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) to the U.S. 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.
In defence, it said the India-U.S Major Defense Partnership has emerged as a pillar of global peace and security. The leaders welcomed the launch of dialogues in new defense domains including space and AI, which will enhance capacity building, knowledge, and expertise.
The leaders welcomed the adoption of a Defense Industrial Cooperation Roadmap, which will provide policy direction to defense industries and enable co-production of advanced defense systems and collaborative research, testing, and prototyping of projects. Both sides are committed to addressing any regulatory barriers to defense industrial cooperation.
They hailed the landmark signing of an MoU between General Electric and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited for the manufacture of GE F-414 jet engines in India, for the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited Light Combat Aircraft Mk 2. This trailblazing initiative to manufacture F-414 engines in India will enable greater transfer of U.S. jet engine technology than ever before. The leaders committed their governments to working collaboratively and expeditiously to support the advancement of this unprecedented co-production and technology transfer proposal, the statement said.
They also welcomed India’s emergence as a hub for maintenance and repair for forward deployed U.S. Navy assets and the conclusion of Master Ship Repair Agreements with Indian shipyards. As envisaged in the Defense Industrial Roadmap, both countries agree to work together for the creation of logistic, repair, and maintenance infrastructure for aircrafts and vessels in India.
They welcomed the setting up and launch of the India-U.S Defense Acceleration Ecosystem (INDUS-X). As a network of universities, startups, industry and think tanks, INDUS-X will facilitate joint defense technology innovation, and co-production of advanced defense technology between the respective industries of the two countries.
The two welcomed India’s plans to procure General Atomics MQ-9B HALE UAVs. The MQ-9Bs, which will be assembled in India, will enhance the capabilities of India’s armed forces across domains. As part of this plan, General Atomics will also establish a Comprehensive Global MRO facility in India to support of India’s long-term goals to boost indigenous defense capabilities.
On clean energy, it said the two nations share a common and ambitious vision to rapidly deploy clean energy at scale, build economic prosperity, and help achieve global climate goals
The leaders welcomed the launch of the India-U.S New and Emerging Renewable Energy Technologies Action Platform, which will accelerate cooperation in green hydrogen, offshore and onshore wind, and other emerging technologies.
The leaders welcomed India’s VSK Energy LLC’s announcement to invest up to $1.5 billion to develop a new, vertically integrated solar panel manufacturing operation in the United States and India’s JSW Steel USA’s plans to invest $120 million at its Mingo Junction, Ohio, steel plant to better serve growing markets in the renewable energy and infrastructure sectors.
The leaders lauded the creation and development of the Global Biofuels Alliance, which will be launched in July 2023, with the United States as a founding member. Both leaders welcomed the signing of an MOU under which the U.S. Agency for International Development will support Indian Railways’ ambitious target to become a "net-zero” carbon emitter by 2030.
They also announced plans to create a payment security mechanism that will facilitate the deployment of 10,000 made-in-India electric buses in India, augmenting India’s focused efforts in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, improving public health, and diversifying the global supply chain.
In the field of supply chains, the two leaders agreed to work together as trusted partners to ensure that their respective markets are well-supplied with the essential critical minerals needed to achieve our climate, economic and strategic technology cooperation goals.
The leaders lauded the announcement of India’s Epsilon Carbon Limited’s plans to invest $650 million in a U.S. greenfield electric vehicle battery component factory.
The leaders noted ongoing negotiations between the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) and Westinghouse Electric Company (WEC) for the construction of six nuclear reactors in India. They welcomed intensified consultations between the U.S. DOE and India’s DAE for facilitating opportunities for WEC to develop a techno-commercial offer for the Kovvada nuclear project. They also noted the ongoing discussion on developing next generation small modular reactor technologies in a collaborative mode for the domestic market as well as for export.
On Ukraine, it said that the two leaders “expressed their deep concern over the conflict in Ukraine and mourned its terrible and tragic humanitarian consequences”.
The two sides reaffirmed their resolve to counter any attempts to unilaterally subvert the multilateral system. “Sharing the view that global governance must be more inclusive and representative, President Biden reiterated U.S. support for India’s permanent membership on a reformed UN Security Council(UNSC).“
Both leaders recommitted themselves to empowering the Quad as a partnership for global good. The leaders welcomed progress on the Indo-Pacific Partnership for Maritime Domain Awareness. The Quad to be hosted in India in 2024 would be another opportunity to continue the dialogue and consolidate cooperation.
The two 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, in an allusion to China’s hegemonistic behaviour in the South China Sea.
The two leaders reiterated the call for concerted action against all UN-listed terrorist groups including Al-Qa’ida, ISIS/Daesh, Lashkar e-Tayyiba (LeT), Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), and Hizb-ul-Mujhahideen. They strongly condemned cross-border terrorism, the use of terrorist proxies and called on Pakistan to take immediate action to ensure that no territory under its control is used for launching terrorist attacks.
They called for the perpetrators of the 26/11 Mumbai and Pathankot attacks to be brought to justice. They noted with concern the increasing global use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), drones and information and communication technologies for terrorist purposes and reaffirmed the importance of working together to combat such misuse.
They called upon the Financial Action Task Force to undertake further work identifying how to improve global implementation of its standards to combat money laundering and the financing of terrorism.
The leaders reiterated their strong support for a peaceful, secure, and stable Afghanistan.
On the I2U2, it said the two two leaders looked forward to strengthening the strategic partnership between India, Israel, United Arab Emirates, and the United States to leverage markets to build more innovative, inclusive, and science-based solutions to enhance food and energy security, improve movement of people and goods across hemispheres, and increase sustainability and resilience.
Both nations are committed to sharing information about cyber threats and vulnerabilities, and to working together to investigate and respond to cyber incidents.
Both reasserted that democracy, freedom, and rule of law are the shared values that anchor global peace and sustainable development. In keeping with the spirit of leaving no one behind, both leaders committed to working towards ensuring that fruits of economic growth and well-being reach the underprivileged.\\\\

President Biden applauded India’s leadership in its ongoing G20 Presidency.
Both recognize the potential of Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) approaches for enabling open and inclusive digital economies and intend to work together to provide global leadership for the implementation of DPI to promote inclusive development, competitive markets, and protect individual rights.
They will explore developing a India-U.S Global Digital Development Partnership, which would bring together technology and resources from both countries to enable development and deployment of DPIs in developing countries.
The leaders reaffirmed that the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) is an important pillar of our collective and collaborative efforts to build resilience in our supply chains, harness transformations in clean energy, and accelerate progress of our economies through anti-corruption efforts, efficient tax administrative practices, and capacity building measures.
The India-U.S trade and investment partnership is an engine for global growth, with bilateral trade exceeding $191 billion in 2022, nearly doubling from 2014.
Underscoring the willingness and trust of both countries in resolving trade issues, the leaders welcomed the resolution of six outstanding WTO disputes between the two countries through mutually agreed solutions as well as their understandings on market access related to certain products of significance to the bilateral trade relationship.
Prime Minister Modi and President Biden again welcomed Air India’s historic agreement with Boeing to acquire more than 200 American-made aircraft. This purchase will support more than one million American jobs across 44 states and contribute to ongoing efforts to modernize the civil aviation sector in India.
Boeing has announced a $100 million investment on infrastructure and programs to train pilots in India, supporting India’s need for 31,000 new pilots over the next 20 years. The leaders also welcomed Boeing’s announcement of its completion of a C-17 aftermarket support facility for MRO and a new parts logistics center in India to capture future synergies between defense and civil aviation, it said.
UNI RN