India, UK unveil futuristic Technology Security Initiative; resolve to seal FTA soon

New Delhi, Jul 24 (PTI) India and the UK on Wednesday firmed up a landmark technology security initiative that sets out a bold new approach for collaboration in a range of "priority" sectors including telecom, critical minerals, semiconductors and artificial intelligence, with a broader aim to elevate their strategic partnership to the next level.

The decision on the UK-India Technology Security Initiative was made public following wide-ranging talks between External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and his visiting British counterpart David Lammy.

In the discussions, both sides appreciated the "substantial" progress made in the India-UK FTA negotiations and looked forward to its "early conclusion" to achieve a mutually beneficial deal, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said.

It is learnt that the Indian side, during the talks, flagged its concerns over activities of pro-Khalistan elements in the UK while the British side raised the issue of Christian Michel, the key accused in the AgustaWestland VVIP chopper case, who is languishing in a jail in India.

In the talks, the two sides 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 MEA said in a statement.

The British foreign secretary arrived in Delhi this morning for the first high-level engagement with New Delhi three weeks after Prime Minister Keir Starmer's Labour government came to power.

Ahead of his talks with Jaishankar, Lammy called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi who said India remains committed to elevating its ties with the UK and welcomes the desire to conclude a mutually beneficial free trade pact.

The British foreign secretary also held separate talks with National Security Advisor Ajit Doval.

In their talks, Jaishankar and Lammy also discussed the migration and mobility partnership between the two countries with a view to strengthen people-to-people ties.

The MEA said the collaboration under TSI will include government, private sector, academia and research and development institutions. The initiative was "spearheaded and agreed" by the NSAs of the two countries.

The TSI seeks to build upon the ambitious cooperation agenda set out in the India-UK Roadmap 2030.

In the talks, Jaishankar and Lammy also discussed India-UK collaboration in the field of climate and green economy.

The two sides deliberated on regional and global issues of mutual interest, including the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the situation in West Asia and the Red Sea.

However, the major highlight of Lammy's engagements with the Indian interlocutors was the unveiling of the TSI which focuses on expanding collaboration in critical and emerging technologies (CET) across priority sectors.

Besides telecom, critical minerals, semiconductors and artificial intelligence, the other areas identified for cooperation are quantum, biotech and advanced materials.

"Recognising the increasing role of technology in national security and economic development, the prime ministers of India and the United Kingdom are launching a new 'Technology Security Initiative' (TSI) to elevate the strategic partnership between the two countries to the next level," a fact-sheet released by the MEA said.

On proposed cooperation in the telecommunication sector, the MEA said the two countries will build a new and enhanced "future telecoms partnership in order to collaborate on joint research on future telecoms, focussed on Open RAN systems, telecom security and spectrum innovation".

Under the critical minerals pillar, the two sides will work together to improve supply chain resilience and explore possible research and technology partnerships along the complete critical minerals value chain including exploration, processing and manufacturing.

The TSI would also provide a framework for building a broad UK-India semiconductor partnership that will leverage each other's strengths and incentives and explore mutually beneficial research and development as well as supply chain resilience.

On the TSI, a British readout said it has been spearheaded and agreed to the NSAs following negotiations between both countries to expand collaboration in critical and emerging technologies across priority sectors.

"It will set out a bold new approach for how the UK and India work together on the defining technologies of this decade -- telecoms, critical minerals, AI, quantum, health/bio tech, advanced materials and semiconductors," it said.

This first-of-its-kind agreement -- delivered by the foreign secretary on behalf of the prime minister -- builds on a series of partnerships between the British and Indian governments, industry and academia, it said.

The readout said the NSAs will take this agreement forward to ensure the collective potential of UK-Indian critical technologies is harnessed.

"This will drive forward a bilateral partnership that is framed on boosting economic growth, deepening cooperation across key issues including trade, technology, education, culture and climate," it said.

The readout mentioned that a new 7-million pounds funding call for future telecoms research was also announced by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and India's Department of Science and Technology.

"This government will put growth at the heart of our foreign policy. That's why three weeks into the job, I am in Delhi announcing a new Technology Security Initiative to deliver on the promise of the UK-India relationship," Lammy said.

"This will mean real action together on the challenges of the future from AI to critical minerals. Together we can unlock mutual growth, boost innovation, jobs and investment," he said.

In a post on 'X', Jaishankar described his talks with Lammy as "productive and engaging".

"Noted the immense potential to take forward the India-UK Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, building on close links in trade & economy, defence & security, education, IT, digital, space & high tech, culture, mobility and people to people ties," he said.

"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.

In his opening remarks at the meeting, Jaishankar said the India-UK relationship is "very important" with enormous possibilities and realising them meaningfully is the task at hand.

"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 said.

"We are both countries which 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 in global platforms," Jaishankar said.

In their talks, Jaishankar and Lammy also reviewed the implementation of the India-UK roadmap that seeks to broad-base the ties in a range of areas.

In 2021, India and the UK adopted the 10-year roadmap to expand ties in the key areas of trade and economy, defence and security, climate change and people-to-people connections among others. PTI