NEW DELHI: The Government of India and the United Kingdom on Wednesday, launched a new ‘Technology Security Initiative‘ (TSI) to strengthen their strategic partnership, acknowledging the growing significance of technology in national security and economic growth.
The UK and India have agreed to strengthen their collaboration in various areas of technology, including telecommunications, critical minerals, semiconductors, artificial intelligence, quantum, biotechnology, and advanced materials.The partnership aims to enhance research and development, promote trade and investment, and share best practices in these fields.
The TSI will be focused on enhancing the ambitious bilateral cooperation agenda outlined in the India-UK Roadmap 2030, focusing on collaboration in critical and emerging technologies (CET) across various priority sectors.
A statement released by the Ministry of External affairs said: “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.
” The MEA and the UK government, will establish a bilateral mechanism, to promote trade in critical and emerging technologies, including resolving relevant licensing or regulatory issues.
“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 Deputy NSA level,” the statement read.
The UK and India take pride in the extensive collaborations between their institutions in this domain and aim to build on this strong foundation to collectively shape a fourth industrial revolution.
The MEA said 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. We will seek to expand this dialogue to include Internet Governance issues; and promotion of multi-linguism through Internationalized Domain Names (IDNs).”
This collaboration will span across government entities, technology and research centers, industry players, and academic institutions. The partnership will focus on the following domains and activities within each domain:
1. Telecoms
In the field of telecommunications, The UK and India will build a new and enhanced Future Telecoms Partnership “in order to collaborate on joint research on future telecoms, focussed on Open RAN systems, testbed linkups, telecoms security, spectrum innovation, software and systems architecture.”
2. Critical Minerals
The United Kingdom and India are set to enhance their partnership in the critical minerals sector, “exploration, processing and manufacturing.
It will also: ” Develop a roadmap for cooperation, and establish a UK-India “critical minerals” community of academics, innovators and industry. The two sides will set up an Observatory to provide a mechanism for sharing data on critical minerals supply chains and flows; and launch innovation pilots in partnership with the UK’s Centre for Process Innovation.”
3. Semiconductors
The semiconductor partnership will facilitate academic and industrial R&D collaboration, including in chip design and IP, compound semiconductors, advanced packaging and innovative systems, with a focus on powering net zero, advanced telecommunications and cybersecurity; supporting semiconductor firms to build closer relationships, including in manufacturing and product development.”
4. Artificial Intelligence (AI)
In the area of artificial intelligence, the UK and India will work towards safe, responsible, human-centric, and trustworthy AI.
“They will collaborate in multilateral fora, such as the Group of Twenty (G20), Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence (GPAI), and United Nations (UN). Both sides welcome the outcomes of the UK’s AI Safety Summit and India’s GPAI Summit, and will ensure that India’s 2024 GPAI Chairmanship delivers successful outcomes.”
5. Quantum
The partnership will share expertise on: ” Joint hackathons in quantum algorithms and solutions for automotive, life sciences, chemicals, and greenhouse gas domains.”
6. Biotechnology and HealthTech
This partnership aims to: “Strengthen biotechnology cooperation. This will include genomics, genomic prediction and precision medicine, cell and gene therapy, biotherapeutics (including bio-manufacturing), smart bio-sensors and bio-electronics, biomaterials and bio-fabrication in line with respective ethical and legal frameworks and requirements of both countries. We will exchange insights as appropriate on AI tools, such as machine learning, for these activities.”
7. Advanced Materials
The primary objective of this dialogue is to pinpoint specific areas for research and development collaboration in the field of materials and composites and collaboration on research, responsible innovation and standards in Advanced Materials.
They will also develop collaboration between leading institutions in the field of advanced 2-Dimensional and atomically-thin materials and nanotechnology.
In a meeting with the British foreign secretary Lammy, Prime Minister Narendra Modi reaffirmed India’s dedication to strengthening its relations with the UK and expressed appreciation for the mutual interest in finalizing a beneficial free trade agreement.
Lammy’s visit to the Indian capital marks the inaugural high-level interaction between India and the UK following the assumption of power by Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Labour government on July 5.
“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 added.
The UK and India have agreed to strengthen their collaboration in various areas of technology, including telecommunications, critical minerals, semiconductors, artificial intelligence, quantum, biotechnology, and advanced materials.The partnership aims to enhance research and development, promote trade and investment, and share best practices in these fields.
The TSI will be focused on enhancing the ambitious bilateral cooperation agenda outlined in the India-UK Roadmap 2030, focusing on collaboration in critical and emerging technologies (CET) across various priority sectors.
A statement released by the Ministry of External affairs said: “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.
” The MEA and the UK government, will establish a bilateral mechanism, to promote trade in critical and emerging technologies, including resolving relevant licensing or regulatory issues.
“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 Deputy NSA level,” the statement read.
The UK and India take pride in the extensive collaborations between their institutions in this domain and aim to build on this strong foundation to collectively shape a fourth industrial revolution.
The MEA said 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. We will seek to expand this dialogue to include Internet Governance issues; and promotion of multi-linguism through Internationalized Domain Names (IDNs).”
This collaboration will span across government entities, technology and research centers, industry players, and academic institutions. The partnership will focus on the following domains and activities within each domain:
1. Telecoms
In the field of telecommunications, The UK and India will build a new and enhanced Future Telecoms Partnership “in order to collaborate on joint research on future telecoms, focussed on Open RAN systems, testbed linkups, telecoms security, spectrum innovation, software and systems architecture.”
2. Critical Minerals
The United Kingdom and India are set to enhance their partnership in the critical minerals sector, “exploration, processing and manufacturing.
It will also: ” Develop a roadmap for cooperation, and establish a UK-India “critical minerals” community of academics, innovators and industry. The two sides will set up an Observatory to provide a mechanism for sharing data on critical minerals supply chains and flows; and launch innovation pilots in partnership with the UK’s Centre for Process Innovation.”
3. Semiconductors
The semiconductor partnership will facilitate academic and industrial R&D collaboration, including in chip design and IP, compound semiconductors, advanced packaging and innovative systems, with a focus on powering net zero, advanced telecommunications and cybersecurity; supporting semiconductor firms to build closer relationships, including in manufacturing and product development.”
4. Artificial Intelligence (AI)
In the area of artificial intelligence, the UK and India will work towards safe, responsible, human-centric, and trustworthy AI.
“They will collaborate in multilateral fora, such as the Group of Twenty (G20), Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence (GPAI), and United Nations (UN). Both sides welcome the outcomes of the UK’s AI Safety Summit and India’s GPAI Summit, and will ensure that India’s 2024 GPAI Chairmanship delivers successful outcomes.”
5. Quantum
The partnership will share expertise on: ” Joint hackathons in quantum algorithms and solutions for automotive, life sciences, chemicals, and greenhouse gas domains.”
6. Biotechnology and HealthTech
This partnership aims to: “Strengthen biotechnology cooperation. This will include genomics, genomic prediction and precision medicine, cell and gene therapy, biotherapeutics (including bio-manufacturing), smart bio-sensors and bio-electronics, biomaterials and bio-fabrication in line with respective ethical and legal frameworks and requirements of both countries. We will exchange insights as appropriate on AI tools, such as machine learning, for these activities.”
7. Advanced Materials
The primary objective of this dialogue is to pinpoint specific areas for research and development collaboration in the field of materials and composites and collaboration on research, responsible innovation and standards in Advanced Materials.
They will also develop collaboration between leading institutions in the field of advanced 2-Dimensional and atomically-thin materials and nanotechnology.
In a meeting with the British foreign secretary Lammy, Prime Minister Narendra Modi reaffirmed India’s dedication to strengthening its relations with the UK and expressed appreciation for the mutual interest in finalizing a beneficial free trade agreement.
Lammy’s visit to the Indian capital marks the inaugural high-level interaction between India and the UK following the assumption of power by Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Labour government on July 5.
“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 added.