Ahead of PM Modi visit, India & US hold strategic trade talks

NEW DELHI: Ahead of PM Narendra Modi’s visit to the US, the two countries held the inaugural meeting of India-US Strategic Trade Dialogue (IUSSTD). The talks focused on ways to facilitate development and trade in critical technologies like semiconductors, space, telecom, quantum, Artificial Intelligence, defence and bio-tech, according to the Indian embassy in the US.
The dialogue is seen as a key mechanism to take forward the strategic technology and trade collaborations under the India-US initiative on Critical and Emerging Technologies (iCET).India and the US agreed in the talks to set up a regular monitoring group which will review progress in deepening cooperation in the bilateral high-tech trade and technology partnership.

Foreign secretary Vinay Kwatra travelled to the US for the talks. The engagement also took place ahead of the Track 1.5 dialogue on India–US Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technologies (iCET) that will be held here next week and will be addressed by NSA Ajit Doval and his counterpart Jake Sullivan. According to the Indian readout, both sides reviewed the relevant bilateral export control regulations with the objective of building and diversifying resilient supply chains for these strategic technologies.

While foreign secretary Kwatra led the Indian delegation, the US delegation was co-led by Alan Estevez, under secretary for industry and security in the US department of commerce and Victoria Nuland, under secretary of state for political affairs in the US department of state.
“They reviewed ongoing cooperation in multilateral export control regimes and agreed to share best practices. Both sides agreed to enhance awareness among the industry, academia and other stakeholders about the export control regimes...,” said the Indian government.