Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has set off to the United States to meet with President Joe Biden and address the Congress, with military and technological ties on the agenda.
Before he left India on Tuesday, June 20, 2023, for his first state visit to the U.S since assuming power in 2014, Modi tweeted, “We seek to deepen India-USA ties in key sectors like trade, commerce, innovation, technology and other such areas.”
On Wednesday, June 21, 2023, the Indian Prime Minister is anticipated to lead foreign dignitaries and bureaucrats in a session for International Yoga Day at the UN Secretariat in New York. Yoga, an ancient discipline first practised by Hindu sages, is now one of India’s most successful cultural exports.
Modi’s schedule on Thursday, June 22, 2023, includes an Oval Office meeting with Biden, an address to a joint meeting of Congress, and a lavish White House dinner hosted by Biden and First Lady Jill Biden.
On Friday, June 23, 2023, Modi will be honoured at a State Department luncheon hosted by Vice President Kamala Harris and Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and he is slated to address members of the Indian diaspora before leaving Washington.
Nevertheless, the visit comes at a time of rising concerns over India’s treatment of its Muslim minority, human rights, and democratic backsliding under the Hindu nationalist leader.
Elaine Pearson, Asia Director for the group Human Rights Watch, urged Biden in a letter not to shy away from confronting Modi on India’s “worsening human rights situation.”
Meanwhile, Biden has emphasized that he regards U.S ties to India as a defining relationship that will jointly address some of the most difficult global challenges in coming years, including climate change, disruptions related to artificial intelligence, and China’s growing power in the Indo-Pacific.
A senior Biden administration official who spoke on condition of anonymity, divulged that Biden is expected to raise India’s reliance on Russian oil as well as human rights in his private talks with Modi.
In 2021, Russian oil accounted for just 2% of India’s annual crude imports. That figure now stands at more than 19%
U.S-India Partnership Filled With Promise
U.S Secretary of State, Antony Blinken told the U.S.-India Business Council in Washington ahead of Modi’s visit that “Now, we know that India and the United States are big, complicated countries,” adding that work has to be done to “advance transparency, to promote market access, to strengthen our democracies, to unleash the full potential of our people.”
“But the trajectory of this partnership is unmistakable, and it is filled with promise,” Blinken added.
Biden wants to bring India closer to the United States as the administration tilts its foreign policy toward Asia and looks to build partnerships in the region in the face of an ascendant China.
Modi, for his part, is trying to usher in a more prosperous era for his nation of 1.4 billion. The Indian Prime Minister hopes to bolster U.S.-India economic and military ties.
He also has his own worries about Chinese military activities, along the Himalayan border and in the Indian Ocean. India has been locked in a long-running standoff with China in the rugged mountainous area of Ladakh, where each side has stationed tens of thousands of military personnel backed by artillery, tanks and fighter jets.
Biden and Modi are expected to make announcements on cooperation in higher education, space and more. High on the agenda is deepening defense cooperation. India has sought to reduce its reliance on Russian military hardware by buying from the U.S., France, Germany and other countries.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will depart for Egypt from the U. S for a two-day visit which starts on Saturday, June 24, 2023.
