NEW DELHI: India and the US have agreed to strengthen cooperation in various sectors, including pharmaceuticals, semiconductors, critical minerals, and emerging technologies, according to commerce ministry.
They also discussed opportunities for collaboration in green and clean technologies, as well as partnerships in critical technologies, during a virtual meeting held on Thursday night between India’s Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo.
“... the following key areas emerged from the discussions -- supply chain cooperation across pharma, semiconductors, critical minerals and energy; collaborative opportunities in green tech and scaling up manufacturing for clean tech; and strengthening partnership in critical and emerging technologies,” commerce ministry said in a statement.
Additionally, the US Secretary of Commerce announced the inclusion of four new members from the US industry in the forum: Honeywell, Pfizer, Kyndryl, and Viasat. The forum, consisting of CEOs from leading Indian and US-based companies, co-chaired by N Chandrasekaran, Chairman, Tata Sons, and James Taiclet, President and chief executive officer, Lockheed Martin, said they aim to enhance bilateral trade relations. Both sides emphasised supply chain cooperation, scaling up manufacturing for clean technologies, and fostering collaboration in critical and emerging technologies.
Meanwhile, Goyal urged the industry to take advantage of platforms such as the semiconductor supply chain and innovation partnership, innovation handshake, India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor, and Global Biofuels Alliance. He encouraged exploring collaborative opportunities through these platforms. This marked the India-US CEO Forum’s eighth meeting since its reconstitution in December 2014. The next forum meeting is scheduled for early next year.