India on Friday, Feb. 20, joined Pax Silica – a US-led strategic alliance launched in December last year – which is aimed at building a resilient supply chain for critical minerals and artificial intelligence (AI).
India joined the coalition at a ceremony held on the sidelines of the India AI Impact Summit 2026. Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and US envoy to India Sergio Gor, among others, were present at the event.
This comes at a time when New Delhi and Washington are making efforts to finalise a proposed trade deal and further advance other initiatives to strengthen bilateral ties in areas like the production of critical minerals and semiconductors, as well as the rapidly evolving AI space.
VIDEO | India signs agreement to join US-led coalition Pax Silica.#PTIAtAIImpactSummit #IndiaAIImpactSummit2026 #AIImpactSummit2026
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) February 20, 2026
(Source: Third Party)
(Full video available on PTI Videos - https://t.co/n147TvrpG7) pic.twitter.com/BWKYPzn2Xq
On the occasion, Vaishnaw thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Ministers S Jaishankar and Piyush Goyal for making this possible.
"India today is a young nation, with a median age of 28 years. It has a long growth path ahead. Even in 2047, India will remain a young nation, with a median age of 37 years. That means that beyond 2047 as well, there will be a growth period of another 50 years," PTI quoted Vaishnaw as saying.
VIDEO | Delhi: At the signing ceremony of the Pax Silica Declaration between India and the US, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw (@AshwiniVaishnaw) says, "I would like to extend my special thanks to Minister Jaishankar, Minister Piyush Goyal, and to the vision of our honorable… pic.twitter.com/bYnLGPpyZg
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) February 20, 2026
Sergio Gor, US Ambassador to India, said, "A strategic coalition is being formed to shape the 21st-century economic and technological order, securing the full silicon stack—from critical minerals and chip manufacturing to AI deployment. Called ‘Pax Silica', it aims to replace coercive dependencies with trusted industrial partnerships that empower free markets."
Gor noted that India's participation is "described as strategic and essential, citing its engineering talent, mineral processing strides, and role in strengthening U.S.-India tech cooperation. The partnership seeks to advance trusted AI globally, emphasising that peace comes through strength."
What Is Pax Silica?
It is the US Department of State's flagship effort on artificial intelligence and supply chain security, advancing a new economic security consensus among all the allies and trusted partners.
Apart from the US, the member nations include Australia, Greece, Israel, Japan, Qatar, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom.
The non-signatory participants are Canada, the European Union, the Netherlands, Taiwan and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development.
Pax Silica looks forward to creating a shared plan among all the trusted countries to build AI and tech systems for the future. It involves all steps in the technology supply chain, including high-tech manufacturing and AI models.
The initiative is aimed at building a secure, resilient, innovation-driven technology ecosystem spanning critical minerals, energy, advanced manufacturing, semiconductors, AI infrastructure and logistics.
The Pax Silica Declaration stated, "We recognise that the technological revolution in AI is accelerating, increasingly reorganising the world economy, and reshaping global supply chains."
Its core objectives are to reduce coercive dependencies, partner to secure global tech supply chains, protect sensitive technologies and build trusted digital infrastructure. It aims to address AI supply chain opportunities and vulnerabilities.
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