‘Looking forward to welcoming India to Pax Silica next month’: US Under Secretary Jacob Helberg

WASHINGTON: US Under Secretary of State for Economic Affairs Jacob Helberg on Thursday (local time) officially confirmed that India will join Pax Silica in February 2026, the induction of the world’s largest democracy.

Speaking at the Hudson Institute, which promotes American leadership for a secure, free, and prosperous future, he emphasised that while the initial “nucleus” focused on manufacturing hubs such as Japan and South Korea, expanding into India is essential to secure the broader supply chain, including critical minerals and AI infrastructure.

“We’re rapidly expanding this coalition of capable partners. We were pleased to welcome Qatar and the UAE to the partnership two weeks ago, and we look forward to welcoming India next month. Simultaneously, we’re holding ongoing discussions with other partners in various geographies, including Europe, Asia, and the Western Hemisphere, who possess unique capabilities and respect. As we grow, we will create functional working groups that leverage each partner country’s unique expertise. This ensures our work remains tangible, avoids dialogue for its own sake, and remains strictly focused on results. On policy, we’re focused on results,” he said.

.@UnderSecE Jacob Helberg at Hudson Institute -“We look forward to Welcoming India to Pax Silica next month”. EAM @DrSJaishankar will be in Washington DC on Feb 4th. #PaxSilica pic.twitter.com/Ge0cJvRxgC

— Rohit Sharma (@DcWalaDesi) January 29, 2026

Helberg aims to bypass this by creating “functional working groups” that leverage the specific strengths of member nations (e.g., Dutch lithography, Taiwanese fabrication, and Indian software). Helberg notes that membership is about “unique capabilities,” suggesting that India is being brought in for its massive software engineering talent and its emerging hardware manufacturing sector.

Helberg is aggressively expanding the tent, moving beyond the traditional “West” to include key Middle Eastern and South Asian powers.

Pax Silica is a US-led initiative launched in December 2025 to secure the global AI and semiconductor supply chain and reduce dependence on non-aligned nations. The alliance includes the US, Japan, South Korea, and other trusted partners, aiming to ensure advanced AI remains with democratic nations.

Pax Silica is a framework that brings together the most technologically advanced economies—from South Korea to Japan to Israel—to foster cohesion, accelerate infrastructure build-out, and advance the shared AI stack, says @UnderSecE Jacob Helberg at Hudson.@jacobhelberg pic.twitter.com/RluzWLUY7T

— Hudson Institute (@HudsonInstitute) January 29, 2026

India is set to join Pax Silica in February 2026, a move seen as a “historic milestone”. India brings a massive talent pool, growing semiconductor ambitions, and a strategic location, ensuring that New Delhi has a seat at the table where the “architecture of the 21st century” is being designed.

The declaration was signed by Under Secretary of State for Economic Affairs Jacob Helberg alongside representatives from Japan, the State of Israel, Australia, the Republic of Singapore, the Republic of Korea, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, marking the foundation of a rapidly expanding strategic coalition.

Shortly after the initial signing, the State of Qatar and the United Arab Emirates joined as the eighth and ninth signatories. Their accession underscored the initiative’s growing global reach and highlighted the increasing alignment among advanced and strategically positioned economies around the principle that economic security and national security are now inseparable.

Helberg said, “This AI race is a fundamental struggle for the architecture of the 21st century. We must be clear-eyed that the supply chains of the AI revolution are being weaponised by our opponents as tools of political coercion, and dependency is being used as a leash.”

“To address this, we have adopted a new strategic concept called Pax Silica. This is an economic security coalition built on the reality that our security is inseparable from our technological edge. The implementation of Pax Silica will unfold across three broad lines of effort, membership, policy, and projects,” he added.

Earlier, in a post on X, Helberg wrote, “New Delhi will be invited to the table as we operationalise Pax Silica. India’s pending entry into Pax Silica marks a decisive shift toward reliable and secure supply chains. A historic milestone for the U.S.-India partnership. The work to harden our supply chains and secure our economic future starts now. Great work, Ambassador Gor.”

Helberg’s remarks came after US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor, on Monday, noted that India would be invited to join Pax Silica, a US-led strategic initiative aimed at strengthening a secure and resilient silicon supply chain, during his visit to New Delhi.

In his post on X, Gor wrote, “Pleased to share that India will be invited to join Pax Silica, a U.S.-led strategic initiative to build a secure, resilient, and innovation-driven silicon supply chain. As the world adopts new technology, it is essential that India and the United States work hand-in-hand together.”The development assumes significance as India was excluded from the US-led ‘Pax Silica’ initiative at the inaugural Pax Silica Summit in 2025, triggering sharp political criticism.

Pax Silica aims to reduce China’s dominance and counter coercive dependencies across critical minerals, energy inputs, semiconductors, advanced manufacturing, AI infrastructure, and logistics.

On the policy front, the coalition is working to align export controls, investment screening, and R&D subsidies. The goal is to ensure that “trusted” tech doesn’t leak to adversaries and that the member nations provide each other with preferential access to critical components.

In the context of intensifying global competition over AI capabilities, the initiative reflects a broader shift in US economic policy toward proactive coalition-building and long-term strategic planning rather than reactive market corrections.

India’s inclusion is expected to boost domestic semiconductor manufacturing and position the country as an alternative production hub. Experts note that India could join Pax Silica at a later stage, similar to its participation in the Minerals Security Partnership (MSP). (ANI)