New Delhi [India], February 20 (ANI): United States Under Secretary of State Jacob Helberg has underscored the importance of India becoming part of the Pax Silici initiative led by India.

Speaking to ANI at the sidelines of the AI Impact Summit in New Delhi, Helberg said that it reinforces the need to work together for shared economic security.

'Being here really underlines the importance of India being a friend and a partner in the PAX SILICA project. There are so many American companies who came here and rolled out incredibly historic projects. Google rolled out a transpacific and oceanic submarine cable that connects India to the United States. Micron was here earlier rolling out fabs that actually complement their activities in the US. I think this is part of a much bigger story about India and the US working together at every layer of the supply chain stack to help reinforce our shared economic security. Ultimately, Pax Silica is an economic security coalition that does not follow the typical geometries of geopolitical alliances. It is a group of countries that realize that shared supply chains are actually more binding than shared ideology. And so we're very happy to be here and we're very excited to partner with India, ' he said.

Earlier today, speaking at the official signing ceremony as India joined the intiative Helberg noted that it underscores the importance of economic security, translating into national security

'We watch as our friends and allies face daily threats of economic coercion and blackmail, forced to choose between their sovereignty and their prosperity. We find ourselves grappling with a global supply chain that is massively over-concentrated. So today, as we sign the Pax Silica declaration, we say no to weaponised dependency, and we say no to blackmail, and together, we say that economic security is national security, but we must be precise about what that word means,' he said.

United States Ambassador to India Sergio Gor also highlighted India's determination and the expanding scope of cooperation between the two countries. Welcoming India to the Pax Silica initiative, he said that by signing this partnership the two nations had chosen to win.

'We welcome India joining to co-found the future. Pax Silica is about free society, whether free societies will control the commanding heights of the global economy. It's about whether innovation happens in Bangalore and Silicon Valley or in surveillance states they use technology to monitor and control their people. We choose freedom, we choose partnership. We choose strength. And today, with India's entry into Pax silica, we choose to win,' Gor said.

The US envoy to India said it was not only India's scale that impressed him, but also its resolve to chart an independent course. Gor said he often speaks of the limitless potential between India and the United States and truly believes in it. Referring to cooperation ranging from the interim trade agreement to Pax Silica and defence ties, he said the two nations have vast opportunities to work together and that he intends to advance this partnership over the next three years of his tenure.

Pax Silica is the US Department of State's flagship effort on AI and supply chain security, advancing a new economic security consensus among allies and trusted partners.The Pax Silica Declaration underlines the importance of a reliable supply chain indispensable to mutual economic security and recognises AI as a transformative force for long-term prosperity. (ANI)