Visiting US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said that she was looking to build on the strong security partnership with India, including cyber security, emerging tech and Artificial Intelligence.
Speaking at the Raisina Dialogue, a conference organised by the Observer Research Foundation (ORF) and Ministry of External Affairs in Delhi, Gabbard said she met her Indian counterparts and heard “directly from them about the very serious concerns that you have here of your own security interests”, and underlined that “America first is not America alone”.
She said they are also looking for opportunities where they can “build off of what is already a very strong partnership that has gone on for quite some time and again, take advantage of the new administration to pick up that momentum and find those other opportunities”.
“From an intelligence sharing standpoint, knowing that in our role, our ability is to make sure that we are providing the best timely and relevant intelligence reporting to our leadership so that they can make the best informed decisions, but obviously strengthening our security partnership, our economic partnership that President (Donald) Trump and Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi really laid out in their compact statement when Prime Minister Modi was in Washington,,” she said.
Asked by ORF president Samir Saran whether that included a focus on emerging technologies and the frontier tech areas, she responded, “Absolutely, it’s impossible to have a conversation about both the challenges and opportunities we face without focusing on the very quickly evolving cyber security needs, the vulnerabilities that exist, and the need to maximise emerging tech and AI and other capabilities to strengthen our security interests.”
Articulating Trump’s vision, she said, “In the United States, President Trump remains unwavering in his commitment to achieving peace through a strategy rooted in realism, pragmatism, securing peace through strength, which he speaks of very often, requires strong leadership with a clear-eyed and realistic understanding of the global challenges that exist as well as the opportunities.”
Gabbard described her visit to India, “It’s been a constructive few days where I’ve been engaging with our Indian counterparts, working to continue to build off of the momentum that was created by President Trump and PM Modi’s joint statement issued in Washington, after their Oval Office meeting. The partnership between our two countries has been strong for decades, and under the leadership of great leaders and true great friends.”
On Monday, Gabbard met PM Modi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar. In a post on X, PM Modi said, “Glad to welcome @TulsiGabbard to India. Exchanged views on further advancing the India-US Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership. Both countries are committed to combating terrorism and enhancing maritime and cyber security cooperation.”
The discussions assume significance since Gabbard also attended the conference of intelligence chiefs on Sunday, hosted by National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, Research & Analysis Wing chief Ravi Sinha and Intelligence Bureau director Tapan Deka.