India and Australia Launch PACTS to Strengthen Cyber, Critical Technology and Supply Chain Partnership

India and Australia have made significant progress in their strategic technology partnership through the establishment of the Australia-India Partnership for Cyber, Critical Technologies and Supply Chains (PACTS) during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent visit to the Australia. This announcement was made at the third India-Australia Annual Summit in Melbourne in the presence of the Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. The partnership aims to strengthen collaboration in various areas including cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, semiconductors, critical minerals, digital resilience, and defence research. Alongside this development, the leaders also announced the creation of the Australia-Canada-India Technology and Innovation Partnership (ACITI).

What is PACTS?

The Australia-India Partnership for Cyber, Critical Technologies and Supply Chains (PACTS) is a strategic partnership aimed at promoting collaboration between the two countries on matters that are increasingly important for national security and economic resilience.

As stated in the joint declaration, both the nations have acknowledged that cyber security, critical technologies, and resilient supply chains are fundamental factors in determining economic growth, national security, and global standards of the future.

The partnership will engage the following stakeholders,

• Government institutions
• Private companies
• Universities
• Research organizations
• Defence system developers

The main aim of this initiatives is to encourage the innovation, improve technology collaboration, develop the investment cooperation between two countries, and bring scientific research into practice.

The five major strategies of PACTS

There are five main strategies which will direct the cooperation in the new partnership:

1. Supply Chain Flexibility and Diversification
2. Critical Technologies
3. Cyber Security
4. Digital Resilience
5. Defense Research Cooperation

The significance of PACTS

PACTS comes at a period when nations are attempting to reduce their reliance on single-nation supply chains, particularly for critical technologies.

The COVID-19 pandemic and current geopolitical issues have revealed weaknesses within global supply chains, particularly related to the following sectors,

• The semiconductor industries
• Critical materials
• Battery materials
• AI infrastructure
• Advanced technologies

China is highly influential in the processing and refining of certain critical materials which play an important role in clean energy technology, electric vehicles, and AI devices.

Australia-Canada-India Technology and Innovation Partnership (ACITI)

Alongside with the PACTS initiative, both countries have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) under the Australia-Canada-India Technology and Innovation Partnership (ACITI).

This trilateral initiative was initially introduced during the meeting among Prime Ministers Modi, Albanese, and Carney.

The objectives of this partnership are,

• To promote cooperation in innovative technologies.
• To promote joint innovation projects.
• To bring in the expertise and resources for the projects.
• To promote joint research activities.
• To strengthen technology partnerships among the 3 nations.

The initiative is a sign of the increased global efforts to develop relationships in technology among the countries with the same ideology in relation to technology development.