New Delhi [India], September 12 (ANI): The United States and India have joined hands to strengthen the security, resilience, and diversification of global undersea cable networks, highlighting New Delhi's emerging strategic position as a global digital hub.

In a post on X, the US Embassy in India announced the partnership and noted that the two nations brought together government and industry experts in September to host an 'Undersea Cables Workshop' aimed at safeguarding critical subsea communication infrastructure.

Highlighting the importance of subsea infrastructure in powering modern digital systems, the Embassy wrote, 'Undersea cables are the backbone of global digital connectivity powering economies, cloud services, and the AI revolution. The United States and India are partnering to strengthen the security, resilience, and diversification of the networks that keep the world connected.'

The US Embassy further emphasised under the US-India TRUST (Transforming the Relationship Utilising Strategic Technologies) Initiative framework that subsea cable networks form the structural foundation for global digital commerce, data centres, cloud platforms, and the rapidly growing artificial intelligence economy, noting that secure and resilient cables remain vital to keeping international economies interconnected.

Pointing to India's crucial role in the expanding global network, the US Embassy highlighted that New Delhi's booming digital economy, surging demand for cloud and AI capabilities, and strategic geographical location linking major global markets present significant opportunities for the country to establish itself as a primary global subsea cable hub.

https://x.com/USAndIndia/status/2098377410505007388

Earlier in May, US Ambassador to India, Sergio Gor, said the TRUST initiative, launched during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Washington last year, is helping deepen cooperation in critical and emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, semiconductors, quantum computing, biotechnology, energy and space.

He also said the US is focusing on partnerships with countries it considers trusted collaborators in emerging technologies, noting that 'India's one of those partners.'

The ambassador also highlighted India's inclusion in the Pax Silica initiative, a trusted technology and supply-chain network led by the United States.

'The reason India was in the first top 10 countries around the world to join this is that we trust this place. We trust the people here, we trust the technology, we trust your government,' Gor said.

He added that India is joining 'a network of trusted ecosystems and resilient supply chains' covering technologies such as artificial intelligence, semiconductors and quantum computing.

The US-India TRUST initiative was launched to catalyse government-to-government, academia and private sector collaboration to promote application of critical and emerging technologies in areas like defence, artificial intelligence, semiconductors, quantum, biotechnology, energy and space, while encouraging the use of verified technology vendors and ensuring sensitive technologies are protected, the joint statement released following PM Modi's visit to Washington in February last year. 

As a central pillar of the 'TRUST" initiative, the leaders committed to work with US and Indian private industry to put forward a US-India Roadmap on Accelerating AI Infrastructure by the end of the year, identifying constraints to financing, building, powering, and connecting large-scale US-origin AI infrastructure in India with milestones and future actions.

The statement noted that the US and India would work together to enable industry partnerships and investments in next-generation data centres, cooperation on development and access to compute and processors for AI, for innovations in AI models and building AI applications for solving societal challenges while addressing the protections and controls necessary to protect these technologies and reduce regulatory barriers, the statement read. (ANI)