US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan on Tuesday concluded a two-day visit to India, where he discussed efforts to boost technology co-operation with Indian officials.
Mr Sullivan met Indian National Security Adviser Ajit Doval in New Delhi for extensive talks over the Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technologies, aimed at expanding strategic technology partnerships between the two nations.
The iCET was launched by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Joe Biden in 2022.
The progamme aims for greater co-operation on new and emerging technologies, including semiconductors, artificial intelligence, quantum computing, defence innovation, space and advanced telecommunications.
Mr Sullivan attended a roundtable with Mr Doval and industry experts and chief executives from both the US and India on Tuesday hosted by Confederation of Indian Industry, an Indian trade and advocacy group.
"The US and India have got to remain at the forefront of technology in case we need to protect and defend our value systems and it is part of a larger strategic interest," Mr Doval said.
Mr Sullivan highlighted innovation, production, and deployment as the three important elements for technology partnerships.
During his visit, Mr Sullivan also met Mr Modi and Minister of External Affairs Subhramanyam Jaishankar on Monday.
Earlier on Monday, Mr Sullivan and Mr Doval discussed bilateral matters and reviewed the India-US partnership on regional and global issues.
They also launched a new strategic semiconductor partnership between the US and Indian companies for precision-guided ammunition and other national security-focused electronics platforms, a joint fact sheet of the meeting shared by the US government said.
Mr Sullivan’s visit is the first by a senior American official since Mr Modi took charge as the Prime Minister for a third consecutive term earlier this month. The first meeting to discuss the iCET was held in the US in January last year.
Mr Modi met President Biden on the sidelines of the G7 Summit in Italy last week.
Mr Sullivan’s visit also came amid the trial of an Indian man, Nikhil Gupta, who is accused of plotting to kill American citizen Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a Sikh separatist leader, with the alleged help of Indian government officials.
Mr Gupta was extradited from the Czech Republic to the US on Friday and now faces trial in New York.
The alleged target of the plot, Mr Pannun, who is a dual US-Canadian citizen, was also the lawyer of Hardip Singh Nijjar, a Sikh separatist leader.
Mr Nijjar was shot dead in his car outside a Sikh temple in Vancouver, Canada, in June last year.
US prosecutors have accused Indian government officials of involvement in working with Mr Gupta in the assassination plot. India denies the allegations.
A serious diplomatic row broke out in September after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he had "credible allegations" of India's involvement in the killing of Mr Nijjar.
India denied his claims and accused Canada of harbouring Indian extremists.
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Greatest Royal Rumble results
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Bludgeon Brothers retain the SmackDown Tag Team titles against the Usos
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Women's Prize for Fiction shortlist
The Silence of the Girls by Pat Barker
My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite
Milkman by Anna Burns
Ordinary People by Diana Evans
An American Marriage by Tayari Jones
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T20 World Cup Qualifier A, Muscat
Friday, February 18: 10am - Oman v Nepal, Canada v Philippines; 2pm - Ireland v UAE, Germany v Bahrain
Saturday, February 19: 10am - Oman v Canada, Nepal v Philippines; 2pm - UAE v Germany, Ireland v Bahrain
Monday, February 21: 10am - Ireland v Germany, UAE v Bahrain; 2pm - Nepal v Canada, Oman v Philippines
Tuesday, February 22: 2pm – semi-finals
Thursday, February 24: 2pm – final
UAE squad: Ahmed Raza (captain), Muhammad Waseem, Chirag Suri, Vriitya Aravind, Rohan Mustafa, Kashif Daud, Zahoor Khan, Alishan Sharafu, Raja Akifullah, Karthik Meiyappan, Junaid Siddique, Basil Hameed, Zafar Farid, Mohammed Boota, Mohammed Usman, Rahul Bhatia
All matches to be streamed live on icc.tv
Gender equality in the workplace still 200 years away
It will take centuries to achieve gender parity in workplaces around the globe, according to a December report from the World Economic Forum.
The WEF study said there had been some improvements in wage equality in 2018 compared to 2017, when the global gender gap widened for the first time in a decade.
But it warned that these were offset by declining representation of women in politics, coupled with greater inequality in their access to health and education.
At current rates, the global gender gap across a range of areas will not close for another 108 years, while it is expected to take 202 years to close the workplace gap, WEF found.
The Geneva-based organisation's annual report tracked disparities between the sexes in 149 countries across four areas: education, health, economic opportunity and political empowerment.
After years of advances in education, health and political representation, women registered setbacks in all three areas this year, WEF said.
Only in the area of economic opportunity did the gender gap narrow somewhat, although there is not much to celebrate, with the global wage gap narrowing to nearly 51 per cent.
And the number of women in leadership roles has risen to 34 per cent globally, WEF said.
At the same time, the report showed there are now proportionately fewer women than men participating in the workforce, suggesting that automation is having a disproportionate impact on jobs traditionally performed by women.
And women are significantly under-represented in growing areas of employment that require science, technology, engineering and mathematics skills, WEF said.
* Agence France Presse
