Ahead Of Trump Inauguration, NSA Sullivan Meets PM Modi In New Delhi

US NSA briefed on updates brought out to US missile export control policies under MTCR that will boost US commercial space cooperation with India.

New Delhi:US NSA Jake Sullivan, who is on a visit to India two weeks ahead of Donald Trump's inauguration as the 47th President, met Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The India-US strategic partnership has scaled new heights and New Delhi is looking forward to building upon this momentum in the relations, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Monday after their meeting.

The US NSA also held separate talks with his Indian counterpart Ajit Doval and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar. "It was a pleasure to meet the US National Security Advisor @JakeSullivan46," Modi said on 'X'.

"The India-US Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership has scaled new heights, including in the areas of technology, defence, space, biotechnology and Artificial Intelligence," he said.

"Look forward to building upon this momentum in ties between our two democracies for the benefit of our people and global good," Modi added. Following the Doval-Sullivan meeting, the US NSA briefed the Indian side on the updates brought out by the Biden administration to US missile export control policies under the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) that will boost US commercial space cooperation with India.

"Reflecting the progress the US and India have made -- and will continue to make -- as strategic partners and countries with a shared commitment to peaceful nuclear cooperation, NSA Sullivan announced US efforts to finalise necessary steps to delist Indian nuclear entities, which will promote civil nuclear cooperation and resilient clean energy supply chains," a joint press statement said.

It said Sullivan's visit allowed the two sides to review ongoing progress in high-level dialogue, including in diverse fields such as defence, cyber and maritime security. The implementation of the US-India Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology or iCET figured in the meeting.

"The two NSAs have engaged regularly in a high-level dialogue through extensive discussions on a broad bilateral, regional and global agenda," the statement said.

Following the launch of the iCET by Prime Minister Modi and President Joseph Biden on the sidelines of the Quad Summit in Tokyo in 2022, the two NSAs have driven concrete initiatives between the two countries across a range of areas including artificial intelligence, quantum computing, semiconductors, telecommunications, defence and space, it said.

The iCET was launched to forge greater collaboration between India and the US in areas of critical technologies. Last year, the two sides unveiled a raft of transformative initiatives to deepen India-US cooperation in areas of semiconductors, critical minerals, advanced telecommunication and defence space.

Sullivan's trip comes days after External Affairs Minister Jaishankar concluded a six-day visit to the US.