New Delhi

United States Under Secretary of State Jacob Helberg emphasised the significance of India’s participation in the Pax Silica initiative, describing it as a key step toward strengthening economic and technological cooperation between New Delhi and Washington.

Speaking on the sidelines of the AI Impact Summit in the capital, Helberg said India’s involvement reinforces the broader goal of building resilient supply chains and enhancing shared economic security.

He pointed to the presence of major American firms at the summit as evidence of deepening collaboration. Among them, Google announced a trans-Pacific submarine cable project linking India and the United States, while Micron outlined semiconductor manufacturing investments that complement its US operations. Helberg said such developments reflect a larger trend of the two nations working together across multiple layers of the technology and supply-chain ecosystem.

Describing Pax Silica as an “economic security coalition,” Helberg noted that the initiative goes beyond traditional geopolitical alliances. Instead, he said, it focuses on strengthening interconnected supply chains among trusted partners, arguing that economic interdependence can be as binding as shared political ideology.

At the official signing ceremony marking India’s entry into the initiative, Helberg stressed that economic resilience is inseparable from national security. He said countries around the world face risks of economic coercion and overdependence on concentrated supply networks. By joining Pax Silica, he said, participating nations signal their intent to reduce vulnerabilities and avoid what he termed “weaponised dependency.”

Meanwhile, Sergio Gor, the United States Ambassador to India, welcomed New Delhi’s decision to join the initiative as a founding partner. He said the partnership reflects a shared commitment between free societies to lead in innovation and technological advancement.

Gor highlighted the expanding scope of India–US ties, referencing cooperation in trade, defence and advanced technology. He said the collaboration under Pax Silica underscores a shared determination to ensure that critical sectors such as artificial intelligence and semiconductor supply chains remain secure and diversified.

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Pax Silica, an initiative led by the United States Department of State, focuses on AI governance and supply chain security. The declaration associated with the initiative emphasises the importance of reliable and diversified supply networks, while recognising artificial intelligence as a transformative driver of future economic growth.