US, India Resume Talks on Sensitive Technologies During Visit

Dan Strumpf, Bloomberg News

A bare wafer stacker sorts silicon wafers in Building 51 at Micron Technology Inc. headquarters in Boise, Idaho, US, Photographer: Kyle Green/Bloomberg , Bloomberg

(Bloomberg) -- Cooperation between the US and India remains on course in strategic areas including chips, artificial intelligence and space, according to a joint statement from the two countries after a meeting of their national security advisers in New Delhi.

The Monday meeting between US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and his Indian counterpart Ajit Doval marks the first high-level visit to India from a top US official following the re-election of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi earlier this month. The two chaired a meeting of the U.S.-India Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology, according to Monday’s joint statement.

The two discussed cooperation in civilian and defense technologies in space, advanced telecommunications, biotechnology and India’s planned acquisition of MQ-9B military drone platforms as well as possible co-production of land warfare systems, according to the joint statement published by the White House.

The two sides separately held a roundtable with US and Indian businesses on Tuesday. Some of the major companies represented were Thayermahan Inc., Axiom Space Inc, Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd., Bharti Airtel Ltd. and Tata Power Co.

The technology initiative, launched in 2023, charts a course for the two countries to work together on civilian and defense applications for sensitive technologies, part of a broader cooperation as the US cultivates India as a counterweight to China.

During his two-day visit, Sullivan separately met with Modi and briefed him on various areas of cooperation, including in areas of sensitive technologies, according to India’s Ministry of External Affairs. In a post on X after the meeting, Modi said India was committed to to strengthening cooperation with the US “for global good.” Sullivan also met External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar.

The US has sought to cultivate India as a strategic partner in the region against China, with whom India has a frosty relationship. The burgeoning ties between Washington and New Delhi have been complicated by allegations of official Indian involvement in a plot to murder a Sikh activist and US citizen on American soil last year.

Bloomberg News reported last week that a US investigation into India’s alleged involvement in the thwarted assassination attempt was among the topics to be discussed in Sullivan’s visit.

On Monday, police in the Czech Republic said in a post on X they had extradited an Indian suspect wanted by the US for involvement in the alleged plot. The post showed a video of a blurred image of the suspect boarding an airplane. The suspect, Nikhil Gupta, on Monday pleaded not guilty in Manhattan federal court to charges of conspiring to kill activist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, according to media reports.

An Indian investigation found that rogue operatives not authorized by the government were behind the plot, senior officials familiar with the probe told Bloomberg News.

--With assistance from Swati Gupta.

(Updates with more details in the fourth paragraph)