India and Australia have unveiled a Partnership on Cyber, Critical Technologies, and Supply Chains (PACTS) to enhance collaboration in these areas and bolster supply chain resilience. The initiative builds upon the 2020 Framework Arrangement on Cyber and Cyber Enabled Critical Technology Cooperation. The Ministry of External Affairs stated that PACTS aims to enhance national and regional security, provide more digital options to partners, fortify critical supply chains, and boost global cyber resilience.
The PACTS will focus on five key pillars: supply chain resilience and diversification, critical technology, cybersecurity, digital resilience, and defense research collaboration. Both countries will work together to identify opportunities and specific projects under each pillar to foster cooperation among the private sector, universities, research institutions, and government agencies. This collaboration is expected to enhance government-to-government ties, encourage investments in new technologies, and facilitate the transformation of intellectual property into products that drive economic growth.
Within the supply chain pillar, India and Australia will establish a bilateral mechanism for cooperation on trusted vendor frameworks. The two nations aim to create secure, resilient, and trustworthy supply chains to support their expanding technical sectors. This includes promoting security and safety through design, implementing protective regulatory frameworks, and strengthening rules-based bilateral technology trade and supply chains. Additionally, the partnership will focus on semiconductor and critical minerals supply chains, including recycling and recovery, while also fostering commercial collaboration and trade diversification between Australian and Indian businesses.
The critical technology pillar of the PACT will concentrate on artificial intelligence (AI), space, telecommunications, biotechnology, and advanced materials. It will utilize global initiatives to promote international standards and benchmarks for reliable, safe, and secure AI through the development of consensus-driven, multistakeholder frameworks rooted in democratic principles. Cybersecurity cooperation will involve combating cybercrime, deterring malicious activities, sharing knowledge and experiences on cyber and technology security norms, and safeguarding critical national infrastructure. Efforts on digital resilience will aim to expand affordable digital public infrastructure solutions in the Indo-Pacific region, particularly in areas such as clean energy, resilient critical infrastructure, connectivity, digital transformation, health, social protection, skills development, education, and research.
Australia and India will collaborate on leveraging defense research partnerships to enhance their mutual understanding of multi-domain defense challenges and capabilities.
