India and US Formalize AI Partnership Amid Global Governance Push

The Republic of India and the United States officially formalized a shared foundation for Artificial Intelligence (AI) on February 20, 2026, with the 'India AI Impact Summit 2026' held in New Delhi. This action solidifies a deepening strategic partnership centered on technological collaboration, economic growth, and supply chain security within the AI domain.

The core of the formalization involved the joint signing of the 'U.S.-India AI Opportunity Partnership' statement and an exchange of Memoranda of Understanding regarding the 'Policy Priorities for the Bipartisan Perishables' framework. These agreements explicitly aim to foster economic expansion, guarantee technological security, and facilitate the development of an open, trustworthy, and secure AI ecosystem. Both nations acknowledged that the 21st-century trajectory heavily relies on AI, necessitating substantial investment in hardware, energy, compute power, and semiconductor manufacturing.

This partnership is situated within the broader 'U.S.-India Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership' and is positioned as an alternative to global technology regulation approaches adopted by China. Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw emphasized the significance of the Pax Silica Declaration, signed at the Summit, for India’s burgeoning semiconductor and electronics ecosystem, which includes the design of advanced chips down to the 2-nanometer level. The United States views India as a crucial strategic partner in securing global supply chains for AI and semiconductors, a sentiment echoed by senior U.S. officials.

In parallel, India joined the U.S.-led Pax Silica initiative, which seeks to build a network of trusted partners to secure technology supply chains, including semiconductors and advanced manufacturing, aiming to reduce reliance on China-dominated manufacturing hubs. Pax Silica signatories also include Japan, South Korea, the United Kingdom, and Israel. The semiconductor cooperation between the U.S. and India is supported by the International Technology Security and Innovation (ITSI) Fund from the U.S. CHIPS Act of 2022, which allocates $500 million over five years to enhance the semiconductor value chain.

The AI Impact Summit 2026, recognized as the first major global AI summit hosted in the Global South, also yielded the New Delhi Declaration on AI Impact, endorsed by 88 countries, including the U.S. and China. This non-binding declaration underscores India’s vision of 'AI for All,' rooted in the Sanskrit principle 'Sarvajan Hitaya, Sarvajan Sukhaya' (welfare for all, happiness for all), focusing on democratizing AI resources and developing energy-efficient systems. Further strengthening this collaboration is the INDUS-X initiative under the U.S.-India Critical and Emerging Technology (ICET) Partnership.

The bilateral relationship has seen recent momentum, marked by President Donald Trump's announcement of a reduction in reciprocal U.S. import tariffs on India from 25% to 18% and the removal of an additional 25% levy, following Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s agreement to halt discounted Russian crude oil purchases. Prime Minister Modi has characterized the importance of AI as comparable to the discovery of fire, signaling India’s ambition to leverage AI capabilities to accelerate economic growth for its population of 1.4 billion.