Australia, Canada and India have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen cooperation in artificial intelligence (AI), emerging technologies and the digital economy under the newly established Australia-Canada-India Technology and Innovation (ACITI) Partnership.

The agreement brings together Australia's Department of Industry, Science and Resources, Canada's Department of Industry, and India's Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) to promote trusted collaboration on technology development, innovation and commercialisation.

The ACITI Partnership reflects the three countries' shared commitment to harnessing emerging technologies responsibly, strengthening innovation ecosystems, supporting economic growth and deepening technology partnerships across the Indo-Pacific and North America.

Under the MoU, the three governments will collaborate on AI adoption, productivity enhancement and workforce development, while promoting stronger linkages between AI startups, businesses and investment ecosystems. The partnership also includes exchanges on AI policy, governance and regulatory frameworks, as well as cooperation on identifying and mitigating AI-related risks.

Beyond AI, the agreement covers a broad range of strategic technology areas, including semiconductors, data centres and cloud computing, digital public infrastructure, the Internet of Things (IoT), robotics, high-performance computing and cybersecurity.

The MoU is designed to facilitate information sharing, joint research initiatives and commercial partnerships, while strengthening workforce capabilities to address the opportunities and challenges created by rapid technological advancements.

A key objective of the partnership is to foster stronger research and industry collaboration among the three countries, enabling innovation ecosystems to benefit from shared expertise, investment and technology transfer.

To oversee implementation, the partners will establish a Joint Working Group on Technology and Innovation, which will identify priority areas for collaboration, develop implementation mechanisms and coordinate activities under the ACITI framework.

The agreement comes at a time when governments worldwide are increasing international cooperation to accelerate responsible AI adoption, strengthen digital resilience and secure critical technology supply chains. For India, the partnership is expected to support the country's ambitions of becoming a global AI innovation hub while expanding opportunities for cross-border research, startup collaboration and technology commercialisation with Australia and Canada.

The ACITI Partnership marks another step towards building a trusted, interoperable and innovation-driven technology ecosystem among three leading Indo-Pacific and North American democracies, with AI positioned as a central pillar of future cooperation.