India-US sign Pax Silica Declaration: New Delhi’s entry ‘strategic and essential’

India entered the US-led Pax Silica strategic alliance on Friday, as the two sides signed Pax Silica Declaration in presence of Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and US under secretary of state for economic affairs, Jacob Helberg. This comes after US envoy Sergio Gor invited India to enter the bloc last month continuing efforts to finalise a proposed trade agreement and expand cooperation in emerging technologies and supply chains.

Hailing the agreement, Gor said, "India joins Pax Silica, the coalition that will define the 21st century economic and technological order." The Pax Silica Declaration is aimed towards building a secure, resilient and innovation-driven ecosystem for critical minerals and artificial intelligence (AI).





Addressing the signing ceremony, Vaishnaw also highlighted the broader vision behind the initiative, saying, "India has become a part of the Pax Silica. This will greatly benefit India's electronics and semiconductor industry. Ten plants are already established in India and are in the process of being established, and very soon, the first semiconductor plant will begin commercial production."



He further added that India’s engineers are now designing some of the world’s most advanced 2-nanometre chips domestically. Noting that the semiconductor industry will require around one million additional skilled professionals, he stressed that this talent is expected to come from India. “All this will continue, we have to move forward. The country has a direction, a clear goal, and we have to take global leadership in the semiconductor industry and the electronics industry.”

Talking about the Declaration, Gor said that the move builds on recent economic engagement between the two democracies. He said, "India's entry into Pax Silica is not just symbolic. It is strategic and essential. India is a nation with deep talent, deep enough to rival challengers. India's engineering depth offers critical capabilities for this vital coalition. In addition to talent, India has made important strides towards critical mineral processing capacity, and that is something that we are also fully engaged in. Policies that will reinforce US-India tech cooperation will power AI innovation and adoption for years to come. We can share trusted AI technology with the world, and especially with partners like India..."

The alliance, launched back in December 2025, seeks to secure global AI and semiconductor supply chains and reduce dependence on non-aligned nations. It focuses on strengthening cooperation across the full technology value chain, from raw materials to advanced infrastructure. India’s entry in the bloc is set to add its vast talent base, semiconductor ambitions and strategic location to the alliance, positioning New Delhi to play a role in shaping the future economic and technological framework.

The Pax Silica declaration recognises "that a reliable supply chain is indispensable to our mutual economic security." It further notes, "We also recognize that artificial intelligence represents a transformative force for our long-term prosperity and that trustworthy systems are essential to safeguarding our mutual security and prosperity...We believe that economic value and growth will flow through and across all levels of the global AI supply chain, driving historic opportunity and demand for energy, critical minerals, manufacturing, technological hardware, infrastructure, and new markets not yet invented."

Member nations also include Australia, Greece, Israel, Japan, Qatar, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the United States.

A Pax Silica Summit held in Washington on December 12 had earlier brought partner nations together to endorse a shared vision of deeper economic and technology cooperation, with one of the initiative’s central pillars being the creation of a durable economic order to drive AI-powered prosperity across participating countries.