India, UK roll out ambitious technology security initiative

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and British foreign secretary David Lammy announced the UK-India Technology Security Initiative (TSI) during the latter’s first visit to India, where he met senior government officials as part of the UK government’s reset with the Global South.

Though neither India nor the UK formally announced ongoing negotiations on foreign trade agreements, there have been calls for collaboration between both countries in critical minerals and artificial intelligence, among other areas.

Lammy also met foreign minister S. Jaishankar during his visit on Wednesday, en route to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) foreign ministers meeting in Laos on Thursday.

The initiative will expand and deepen the technology security partnership, a British high commission statement read. The UK and India will launch new bilateral initiatives and accelerate bilateral cooperation between governments, technology and research centers, industry, and academia in telecoms, critical minerals, artificial intelligence, semiconductors, quantum, biotechnology, and health tech.

The TSI builds upon the ambitious bilateral cooperation agenda set in the India-UK Roadmap 2030 and will sharpen collaboration in critical and emerging technologies (CET) across priority sectors. It 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, which will, in turn, help build meaningful technology value chain partnerships between our two countries, India’s ministry of external affairs (MEA) said in a release.

Deputy NSAs will review the progress every six months.

Both countries have agreed to establish a bilateral mechanism to promote trade in critical and emerging technologies and resolve relevant licensing or regulatory issues.

The will also create a channel for industry and academia to help shape the TSI and build a joint industry and academia ecosystem that increases the volume and quality of cooperation, the MEA statement 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.

Both countries will seek to expand this dialogue to include internet governance issues and the promotion of multi-linguism through Internationalized Domain Names (IDNs).

As part of TSI, both India and the UK will launch a partnership between the UK’s SONIC Labs (a joint program between the Digital Catapult and Ofcom), India’s Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT), and DOT’s Telecoms Startup Mission.

This partnership will boost the security, resilience, and performance of telecom networks and the development of totally disaggregated Open RAN, including through collaboration on approaches to testing and development of products and solutions.

Under this initiative, UK and Indian researchers will collaborate in the global design and development of next-generation telecommunication technologies and promote 6G technology engagement.

Foreign Secretary David Lammy said:   “This government will put growth at the heart of our foreign policy. That’s why 3 weeks into the job, I am in Delhi announcing a new Technology Security Initiative to deliver on the promise of the UK-India relationship. 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.    We are also accelerating our joint work on the climate crisis – ensuring brighter, safer futures for Brits and Indians. This government is reconnecting Britain for our security and prosperity at home.”

UK secretary of state for science Peter Kyle said: “The UK and India are recognised the world over as powerhouses for science, innovation and technology – and this new agreement will deliver growth and untold benefits for citizens across both nations. From telecoms and semiconductors to biotechnology and AI, these generation-defining technologies will unlock countless new opportunities and innovations, so we can deliver for working people here and in India as we deepen our long-standing partnership.”

Lammy agreed with Jaishankar to deepen partnership on climate, including to mobilize finance and unlock new clean growth opportunities, “while strengthening our investment partnership, to unlock the potential of pioneering Indian enterprises working on climate and technology. These initiatives are specifically focused on delivering green development while empowering women,” the statement from the British high commission said.