US-India iCET Talks: Biden Advisor Discusses Security, Technology

Washington, Dec 5 (PTI) A top national security adviser to US President Joe Biden has held talks with senior Indian officials on various bilateral matters, including the US-India Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET) which is a major milestone in their strategic partnership.

Principal Deputy National Security Advisor Jonathan Finer's visit to India comes days after American prosecutors linked an Indian official to a man charged with conspiring to assassinate Sikh separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun on US soil.

Finer led a US delegation to New Delhi on December 4 for an intersessional review of the US-India Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET) with Indian Deputy National Security Advisor Vikram Misri.

The iCET is a major milestone in the US-India partnership, which is increasingly defined by strategic security and technology cooperation, the White House said in a readout on Monday.

In May 2022, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Biden launched iCET to facilitate outcome-oriented cooperation in new and emerging technologies. iCET is co-led by the National Security Council Secretariat (NSCS) in India and the US National Security Council (NSC).

Finer conducted bilateral and regional consultations with Ambassador Misri, Minister of External Affairs S Jaishankar, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, and Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra for in-depth discussions aimed at strengthening coordination and policy alignment across the Indo-Pacific, including the wider Indian Ocean region.

They discussed the Middle East, including the recent attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea and the importance of safeguarding freedom of commercial navigation, as well as plans for a post-conflict Gaza and a pathway toward a two-state solution.

"Finer acknowledged India's establishment of a Committee of Enquiry to investigate lethal plotting in the United States and the importance of holding accountable anyone found responsible," the White House said.

The US State Department on Monday welcomed a decision by the Indian government to set up a committee to investigate the allegations of an assassination attempt by a junior Indian official on a separatist Sikh leader in the US.

"With respect to this specific case, there is an ongoing law enforcement matter at issue here, and we don't talk about those from this podium. I would defer to the Department of Justice to do that," State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said in response to a question.

“When this alleged incident was brought to our attention, we made it very clear at the most senior levels of our government to the most senior levels of the Indian government how seriously we would treat something like this. They have opened an investigation into the matter and we look forward to seeing the results of that investigation,” he told reporters at his daily news conference.

The US has made clear that it opposes transnational oppression no matter where it occurs or who might be conducting it, he said.

"That's not a comment specific to India. That's a comment specific to any country in the world," Miller said.

India has described as a "matter of concern" the US linking an Indian official to a man charged with conspiring to kill a Sikh separatist on American soil and asserted that follow-up action will be taken based on findings of a panel investigating the allegations.

India has already constituted a high-level probe team to investigate the allegations relating to the foiled plot to kill Pannun, a Sikh extremist known to be an American and Canadian citizen.