India, EU sign MoU on semiconductors

New Delhi: India and the European Union have signed a Memorandum of Understanding on semiconductors that covers cooperation in areas such as research and innovation, talent development, partnerships and exchange of market information, the External Affairs Ministry said Friday.

The MoU was signed ahead of the India–EU Trade and Technology Council that was held in the virtual format on Friday.

The Trade and Technology Council meeting was co-chaired on the Indian side by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal and Minister of Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw.

Executive Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis and Vice-President Vera Jourova chaired the meeting from the European side.

The Trade and Technology Council (TTC) was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen during the latter's visit to India in April 2022.

The inaugural ministerial meeting of TTC was held in Brussels on May 16, where all three working groups under TTC set out their cooperation on a wide range of issues including semiconductors, high-performance computing, digital public infrastructures, clean energy technologies, supply chain resilience and trade issues.

During the virtual meeting, the co-chairs reviewed the progress achieved in the working groups since the first ministerial meeting and also discussed the future action plans of these working groups, the MEA said in its statement.

The co-chairs provided strategic guidance to the Working Groups on strategic technologies and digital connectivity, clean and green energy technologies, and trade, investment and resilient supply chains towards achieving the objectives set out for TTC during its establishment at the highest levels, the MEA said.

They expressed satisfaction at the progress achieved in the working groups to date, particularly in the areas of semiconductors, high-performance computing, digital public infrastructures, EV batteries and their recycling, waste to energy, resilient supply chains and FDI screening, it said.

The co–chairs stressed on taking the collaboration through research and innovation to the next phase of implementation in terms of practical outcomes/projects, through more intensive stakeholder consultations before the next TTC meeting and India–EU Summit.

The MoU on semiconductors was signed by Ashwini Vaishnaw and Thierry Breton, European Commissioner for Internal Markets.

According to the statement, "The MoU aims at increasing resilience of semiconductors value chain in India and EU and covers cooperation in wide areas covering research and innovation, talent development, partnerships and exchange of market information."

The MoU symbolises the strong commitment between India and the EU to work towards building robust semiconductor supply chains and work together on innovation, it said.

In a post on X, Jaishankar said, "Co-chaired the India-EU Trade and Technology Council virtually along with my colleagues PiyushGoyal and Ashwini Vaishnaw. Thank our EU counterparts @VDombrovskis & @VeraJourova for their partnership.”

"Noted the progress since our first meeting in May 2023 in digital and strategic technologies; clean energy and green technologies; and trade and investment and resilient value chains. Committed to promoting more engagements, bringing in practical initiatives and ensuring economic security," Jaishankar said.