India has joined the United States and 34 other countries in endorsing a new declaration on artificial intelligence, as Washington expanded its Pax Silica partnership at the 2026 Pax Silica Summit hosted by the U.S. State Department on 26 June 2026. The initiative aims to build trusted technology supply chains among like-minded economies, covering critical minerals, semiconductors, energy, advanced manufacturing, and AI infrastructure.

What the AI Opportunity Statement Commits To

The Joint Statement on AI Opportunity, unveiled at the summit, commits participating countries to a pro-growth, pro-innovation approach to artificial intelligence. The declaration supports policies that 'advance technological innovation and promote investment' and pledges to champion 'a pro-growth regulatory environment that fosters AI innovation.'

Signatories also agreed to deepen cooperation on trusted semiconductor ecosystems, reliable energy infrastructure, critical minerals, and skilled workforces. Cross-border venture capital flows, joint research and development, and industry partnerships to expand AI computing capacity, next-generation data centres, and trusted AI models are also on the agenda.

Ten New Partners Join, Membership Reaches 24

The State Department announced that 10 new partners had signed the Pax Silica Declaration, bringing total membership to 24 countries and economies. The new signatories are Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, El Salvador, the European Union, Germany, Greece, Kazakhstan, the Netherlands, and Panama.

India is among the initiative's existing members, alongside Australia, Finland, Israel, Japan, Norway, Qatar, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, Sweden, the Philippines, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Taiwan has endorsed the declaration's principles through a separate joint statement on U.S.-Taiwan economic security cooperation.

India's Role and Bilateral Potential

Responding to questions after the summit, Under Secretary for Economic Affairs Jacob Helberg said India had the potential to become 'a comprehensive partner' under the initiative. 'Our administrations have announced their collaboration on the trust initiative. We already work together on a whole array of different issues, and Pax Silica opens the door to deepen our collaboration on semiconductor manufacturing, on critical minerals processing,' Helberg said.

He added that both countries shared concerns over supply chain vulnerabilities and opportunities to build innovation ecosystems, particularly given India's large youth population. This comes amid a broader global push to reduce dependence on concentrated, vulnerable technology supply chains.

New Programmes: Panama AI Pilot and Foundry School

Among the summit's concrete outcomes, the State Department announced a pilot Artificial Intelligence Assistance Project in Panama — a platform designed to credential and track provenance across AI supply chains, speeding the movement of semiconductors, critical minerals, and related products through trusted logistics networks.

The department also unveiled Foundry School, a workforce development initiative developed in partnership with Stanford University. The programme will begin with a seminar series for founders and chief executives in advanced manufacturing, followed by a curriculum that educational institutions across Pax Silica economies can adopt.

Background: What Is Pax Silica

Launched by Jacob Helberg in December 2025, Pax Silica is the State Department's flagship initiative on artificial intelligence and supply chain security. It seeks to build economic security partnerships among allies and trusted partners to reduce dependence on vulnerable global networks — a direct response to concerns over technology chokepoints in critical sectors. The summit's expansion to 35 participating countries marks a significant scaling of the initiative within its first year.