India has joined US-led Pax Silica initiative on Friday, with Ambassador Sergio Gor describing it as a strategic step in advancing cooperation in artificial intelligence (AI). This development comes amid the recent AI Impact Summit hosted by New Delhi, drawing many delegates from countries worldwide. With joining the Pax Silica initiative, India has made very clear and calculated choice between The Board of Peace initiative by Trump and Pax Silica.
The Pax Silica initiative aims at building secure and resilient technology supply chains among trusted partners. Whereas, the Board of Peace is a body created by Trump to oversee Gaza’s reconstruction. Trump will remain chairman of this body lifetime, making it a centralized structure. India has made a lucid distinction between opting for Pax Silica and avoiding Board of Peace, as the former aligns with India’s national interest whereas, the latter is a personality-centric diplomatic experiment to end the Gaza war. This reflects what India wants and needs. Trump sees the Board of Peace plan as a way to secure his claim over the Nobel Peace Prize.
What is Pax Silica?
Pax Silica is a multilateral initiative, launched by Washington in December 2025. It aims to secure global supply chain for semiconductors, artificial intelligence (AI), and rare earth elements (REEs). The term “Pax” denotes peace, whereas, “Silica” means silicon-based semiconductor technologies. The coalition includes the, South Korea, Japan, US, Australia, the UK, Israel, the Netherlands, Singapore, Qatar, the UAE, and now India. The declaration is non-binding, emphasising on coordination and not treaty obligations. Currently, China dominates the Rare Earth processing and parts of semi conductor manufacturing. Pax Silica seeks to counter Beijing’s dominance.
Key members of Pax Silica
It brings together technologically advanced and resource-rich countries. Major participants include the US and Japan as technology leaders, the Netherlands rich in advanced lithography technologies, Australia as a major lithium and rare-earth exporter, Singapore for semiconductor fabrication and South Korea for memory chip manufacturing. Israel has expertise in AI software, cybersecurity and defense technologies. Whereas, UK hosts one of the world’s largest AI markets. Qatar and the UAE add financial strength through investment funds. Canada, OECD and the EU currently holds the observer status.
Strategic importance of Pax Silica
There has been a shift in global economy where, AI, semiconductors and digital infrastructure are becoming central to economic power. Though rare-earths are abundant in nature, their extraction is extremely difficult, making supply chains for rare earths and critical minerals remain highly concentrated. At present, China dominates the global supply chain of rare earth elements
(REE). China restricted th exports of REEs following tariff disputes with the US due to which India also faced disruptions in rare-earth magnet supplies.
Pax Silica will strengthen India’s tech base. Its membership could boost industrial goals by complementing initiatives such as India Semiconductor, IndiaAI, and National Critical Mineral Missions. India will attract investment, secure raw material supply and influence global tech and security standards. Lastly, the success of Pax Silica will depend on whether its partners go beyond talks to build a real-world supply chain.
