India joins ‘Pax Silica’ as US pushes resilient AI and minerals supply chain

India on Friday joined a US-led strategic alliance, ‘Pax Silica’, aimed at building a resilient supply chain for critical minerals and artificial intelligence.

India signed a pact to join the coalition at a ceremony held during the AI Impact Summit. The signing ceremony was attended by Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and US envoy to India Sergio Gor, among others.

Gor said Pax Silica is a coalition of capabilities.

“Pax Silica is a declaration that future belongs to those who build and when free people join forces,” US under secretary of state for economic affairs Jacob Helberg said.

The move comes amid efforts by the two sides to finalise a proposed trade deal and advance several initiatives to strengthen bilateral ties after a period of strain in relations.

The Pax Silica initiative was launched in December last year to build a secure, resilient, and innovation-driven supply chain for critical minerals and artificial intelligence.

The Pax Silica Summit was held in Washington on December 12 last year, where partner nations signed the Pax Silica declaration.

The declaration sets out a shared vision of deep economic and technology cooperation across supply chains, from raw materials through semiconductors and AI infrastructure, along with a commitment to mutual prosperity and security.

Member nations of Pax Silica include Australia, Greece, Israel, Japan, Qatar, Republic of Korea, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom. Gor last month announced an invitation to New Delhi to join the strategic alliance.

One of the key pillars of Pax Silica is to establish a durable economic order to drive AI-powered prosperity across partner nations.

“We recognise that a reliable supply chain is indispensable to our mutual economic security,” the Pax Silica declaration said.

“We also recognise that artificial intelligence (AI) represents a transformative force for our long-term prosperity and that trustworthy systems are essential to safeguarding our mutual security and prosperity,” it said.

“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,” it added.

(With inputs from agencies)