Close on the heels of India and the European Union announcing a major security and defence cooperation agreement, Washington is stepping up its engagement with New Delhi. A bipartisan congressional delegation from the US is here looking to deepen strategic, technological and defence ties as India prepares to formally join the US-led Pax Silica initiative next week.
Pax Silica is a US-led geopolitical and economic framework aimed at building secure and trusted supply chains spanning critical minerals, semiconductors, artificial intelligence infrastructure and advanced manufacturing ecosystems.
The initiative seeks to reduce coercive dependencies in strategic sectors while promoting long-term stability among like-minded partners.
The delegation held talks with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, focusing on expanding defence cooperation, accelerating defence technology collaboration and strengthening co-development and co-production.
The delegation, led by House Armed Services Committee Chairman Michael Rogers and Ranking Member Adam Smith, also met Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh and held discussions with Indian and American defence industry leaders, underscoring Washington’s push to translate strategic alignment into practical outcomes.
The engagements come ahead of Jaishankar’s visit to Washington DC early next week, where he will attend the inaugural Critical Minerals Ministerial hosted by Secretary of State Marco Rubio on February 4.
The ministerial will bring together partners from across the globe to coordinate efforts on securing reliable and resilient supply chains for critical minerals such as lithium, cobalt, nickel and rare earth elements, resources central to clean energy transitions, advanced manufacturing and defence technologies.
Pax Silica was set up in Dec 2025 and India was not among the original eight members, ostensibly because this country was not seen as having any expertise in that area. The admission happened only after US Ambassador Sergio Gor took up his assignment in Delhi in January.
What India can contribute to Pax Silica and how it can benefit will be known only as the organisation gathers steam and puts together an agenda.
