India-EU agree to MoU on strategic semiconductor sector by September 2023

It outlines commitments to deepen strategic partnership in digital technologies, green energy, and resilient value chains.

Who it concerns: India and the European Union. Specific ministries and officials include Indian Ministers Dr. S Jaishankar, Piyush Goyal, and Rajeev Chandrasekhar, and EU officials Margrethe Vestager, Valdis Dombrovskis, Josep Borrell, and Thierry Breton. Sectors and groups affected include the semiconductor industry, digital technology providers, renewable energy and hydrogen sectors, battery manufacturers, start-ups, and skilled professionals in IT and telecoms.

What was agreed

• Conclude a Memorandum of Understanding on the strategic semiconductor sector by September 2023.
• Undertake Quantum and High-Performance Computing R&D projects for climate change, bio-informatics, and drug development.
• Coordinate within the Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence (GPAI) and explore bilateral cooperation on trustworthy AI.
• Implement joint waste water treatment and management projects and work on waste-to-hydrogen.
• Focus on three green energy areas: Renewable and Low Carbon Hydrogen, Batteries for Electrical Vehicles, and Standards.
• Work on four trade areas in the coming year: Resilient Value Chains, Market Access, FDI screening information exchange, and multilateral trade issues (including WTO Ministerial conference-13).
• Meet again in early 2024 in India to review progress.

Also in the document

• India and the EU have set net zero emission targets for 2070 and 2050, respectively.
• Commitments include halting and reversing biodiversity loss by 2030 and promoting a Circular Economy.
• Agreement to collaborate on enhancing the interoperability of Digital Public Infrastructures (DPI) to promote secure, privacy-preserving solutions for developing countries.
• The TTC is described as a key coordination platform reflecting the strategic nature of the bilateral relationship.