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US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor on Friday placed pharmaceuticals and the Pax Silica technology partnership at the centre of the growing India-US strategic relationship, saying Washington views India as a trusted partner in securing critical supply chains and shaping future technologies.
Addressing the US-India TRUST Initiative event titled "Advancing Partnership in Research and Innovation" at IIT Delhi, Gor said India's role in pharmaceuticals, artificial intelligence (AI) and semiconductor supply chains reflected its emergence as a new global power centre. "One of the things this administration has done is identifying new centers of power. To me, to the President, to the administration, the importance of India is now," Gor said. The US envoy particularly stressed India's importance in pharmaceutical manufacturing, noting that nearly 40 per cent of generic medicines used in the United States are sourced from India. "There's a reason the United States does that, it is because we trust India. These are critical, literally life-saving ingredients that are needed in the United States," he said. Gor said Washington and New Delhi were working to strengthen resilient pharmaceutical supply chains under the TRUST initiative, including collaboration on active pharmaceutical ingredients and critical medicines. "Last year, the leaders agreed to encourage public and private investments to expand manufacturing capacity in India and in the US for active pharmaceutical ingredients and for critical medicine. We delivered and India delivered in a big way," he said. Highlighting investment flows, the ambassador said India emerged as a major contributor to new US-bound investments, especially in the pharmaceutical sector. "We came in first in the world with 20 and a half billion announced in new investments for the next year just from India alone. Nineteen billion in investments of that actually is pharmaceutical related also," Gor said. "This isn't just about economics, it's also about de-risking global supply chains and preventing the kind of medicine shortages that put lives at risks," he added. The Ambassador also placed major emphasis on India's inclusion in the Pax Silica initiative, a US-backed trusted technology and supply chain framework focused on artificial intelligence, semiconductors and quantum technologies. "At the summit, Under Secretary Hellberg and I officially welcomed India into Pax Silica, making India one of the first 10 trusted countries that were invited to join," Gor said. "As soon as that announcement happened, within two weeks, we had interest from 60 other countries that have asked us to join Pax Silica. The reason India was in the first top 10 countries around the world to join this is because we trust this place. We trust the people here, we trust the technology, we trust your government," he added. According to Gor, Pax-Silica is aimed at building "trusted ecosystems and resilient supply chains" for technologies that will define the future, including AI, semiconductors and quantum computing. The envoy also highlighted the broader TRUST initiative launched during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's February visit to Washington, describing it as a framework to deepen cooperation in artificial intelligence, defence, biotechnology, energy and space. "We're gathered at a defining moment, one where critical and emerging technologies are fundamentally reshaping the global balance of power. And I believe no partnership is better positioned to lead that charge than ours," he said. Gor said growing American investments reflected confidence in India's policy environment and strategic reliability. "We're seeing this incredible innovation come here because it's welcome. You have a government that is forward-leaning, that has cut and changed rules to accommodate these giant tech companies that we have appreciated in the United States that are now looking to expand in trusted territories such as India," he said. (ANI)
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