India and UK Strengthen Ties: New Technology and Security Initiative Announced

Jaishankar, UK Foreign Secy Lammy agree to boost cooperation in defence and security

This was Lammy's first official visit to India in his capacity as UK Foreign Secretary. During the visit, the UK Foreign Secretary called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and also met with Ajit Doval, National Security Adviser, and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar. EAM held bilateral consultations with Lammy. Both ministers reviewed the Roadmap 2030 agreed upon between the Prime Ministers during the India-UK Virtual Summit 2021, the Ministry of External Affairs said in a press release. The two ministers expressed satisfaction with the progress achieved so far and agreed to look at the renewal of the Roadmap 2030, aiming for a heightened ambition for bilateral cooperation between the two countries. Both sides agreed to finalise the details as per contemporary realities in a time-bound manner to further intensify bilateral collaboration in priority areas of trade and investment, defence and security, migration and mobility, IT/AI/tech-centric areas, S&T, innovation, climate and green energy, the MEA said. India and UK also agreed to deepen defence and security cooperation in the Indo-Pacific and beyond, and to enhance capacities to address growing threats from non-state actors, the release said. Both sides will also set up a bilateral mechanism led by the Ministry of External Affairs, the Government of India and the UK Government for the promotion of critical and emerging technology trade and collaboration, including the resolution of relevant licensing and regulatory issues. Both sides appreciated the substantial progress made in the India-UK Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations and looked forward to its early conclusion to achieve a mutually beneficial FTA. Both sides also welcomed the launch of the UK-India Technology Security Initiative (TSI), spearheaded and agreed upon by the National Security Advisors (NSAs) of both countries, to expand collaboration in critical and emerging technologies (CET) across priority sectors including telecom, critical minerals, semiconductors, artificial intelligence, quantum, biotech, and advanced materials. The collaboration under TSI will include the government, private sector, academia, and R&D institutions. The release further said that after the launch, a Fact Sheet (https://bit.ly/3WzG3DJ) with a focus on specific technologies and areas of cooperation was also released. The Fact Sheet provides precise guidance to all stakeholders, especially industry and academia, and will guide future collaboration. They also discussed India-UK collaboration in the field of climate and green economy, agreeing to focus on it and look for areas of mutual cooperation. Both ministers also discussed the migration and mobility partnership between the two countries to strengthen people-to-people ties. Jaishankar and Lammy also had the opportunity to exchange views on regional and global issues of mutual interest, including the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the situation in West Asia and the Red Sea, the Commonwealth and the UN Security Council, the release said. The visit comes within the first month of the formation of a new government in the UK and is reflective of the commitment of both sides to further deepen and diversify the India-UK Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. The UK Foreign Secretary is scheduled to travel from India to the ASEAN Foreign Ministers' meeting in Laos, where he will advance UK economic partnerships and unveil new cooperation on climate and health. (ANI)

"Fantastic to be in Delhi as we announce UK-India Technology Security Initiative": UK Foreign Secy Lammy

The Ministry of External Affairs said in an official release that the Prime Ministers of India and the UK are launching a new 'Technology Security Initiative' (TSI) to elevate the strategic partnership between the two countries to the next level. The TSI builds upon the ambitious bilateral cooperation agenda set out in the India-UK Roadmap 2030 and will bring a sharper focus collaboration in critical and emerging technologies (CET) across priority sectors. The initiative will reinforce existing collaborative efforts in various technologies, broaden the mandates of existing mechanisms, and establish new mechanisms for cooperation. The TSI will be coordinated by the National Security Advisors (NSAs) of both countries through existing and new dialogues. "The NSAs will set the priority areas and identify interdependencies for cooperation on critical and emerging tech that will, in turn, help build meaningful technology value chain partnerships between our two countries. The progress made on the initiative will be reviewed on a half-yearly basis at the Deputy NSA level. A bilateral mechanism led by India's Ministry of External Affairs and the UK government for the promotion of trade in critical and emerging technologies, including resolution of relevant licensing or regulatory issues," the MEA release read. "Building on shared values, as part of the Strategic Tech Policy Dialogue, the UK and India will hold a dialogue on global tech governance, seeking to coordinate positions on digital technical standards, and support the multi-stakeholder model of internet governance. The nations will seek to expand this dialogue to include Internet Governance issues; and promotion of multi-linguism through Internationalized Domain Names (IDNs), the release added. The release further said that to expand and deepen the technology security partnership, the UK and India will launch new bilateral initiatives and accelerate bilateral cooperation between all relevant stakeholders within government, which include technology and research centres, industry and academia, across telecoms, critical minerals, semiconductors, artificial intelligence, quantum, biotechnology, health tech, and advanced materials. It is pertinent to note that UK Foreign Secretary Lammy arrived in Delhi earlier this morning in the first high-level visit by the newly-elected Labour government in the United Kingdom. He is on a two-day tour to highlight the importance of a new partnership between the UK and India that focuses on economic, domestic and global security. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar welcomed Lammy here in the national capital and held a meeting with the visiting minister. In his opening remarks at the meeting with Lammy, Jaishankar said that he is looking forward to worl with him. "Delighted to welcome you to India on your first official visit in that capacity. I remember your last visit, I think it was in March and I remember our meeting in London, last November. So, it is great to see you in this responsibility. I convey my good wishes for your success, and look forward to working with you," the EAM said. "I do believe that our relationship is a very important relationship with the enormous possibilities there. And how we explore those possibilities, how do we realise our potential in a more meaningful way, is one of the tasks that I look forward to undertaking with you," he further added. The EAM also said that both countries have a global presence and that it is essential for them to cooperate on global issues. "We are both countries that have a big global presence in different ways. So I think it's also important that India and the UK work together on global issues and on global platforms. So, that too, I hope would be part of our conversation," Jaishankar said. The External Affairs Minister also shared a post on X regarding his meeting with Lammy, in which he underscored the importance of building on close links in trade and economy, defence, IT amongst others. "Productive and engaging discussions with UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy this evening. Noted the immense potential to take forward India and UK Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, building on close links in trade and economy, defence and security, education, IT, digital, space and high tech, culture, mobility and people to people ties," Jaishankar said, while sharing a post on X on meeting with Lammy. "Welcomed the launch of the Technology Security Initiative that will open new avenues for collaboration. Also exchanged perspectives on regional and global issues and cooperation in multilateral forums," he added. (ANI)