“Given the situation of the world, it’s essential that India-US work together,” US President Joe Biden said in his welcome address to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on June 22, on his first ‘State Visit’ to the United States. Biden’s words said it all. And the Reuters report put it succinctly: “President Joe Biden rolled out the White House red carpet for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday as part of his effort to jump-start a stronger U.S.-India relationship and counter China’s global influence with a series of defense and trade agreements.”
Washington wants India to be a strategic counterweight to China and sees it as a critical partnership, Reuters said in another report.
A New York Times report on the event said: The Biden administration has made clear that it sees India, one of the world’s fastest-growing economies, in the friend category, and has been seeking to cement ties as tensions with China remain high and as Russia’s war in Ukraine continues to strain international commerce.
In the present global context, and given the unprecedented bonhomie displayed during PM Modi’s state visit, it is clear that the United States of America has never before been as keen to be ‘friends’ with India. Or shall we say that, today, America’s need is greater than India’s?
Welcoming PM Narendra Modi with a 19-gun salute and grand reception in Washington DC, President Joe Biden stressed on strengthening India-US ties and why it’s important for the two countries to work together. “Two great nations, two great powers, two great friends can define the course of 21st century,” he said.
The invitation to PM Modi for the Official State Visit as also to address the US Congress demonstrated the importance that the US accords to its partnership with India and the role that PM Modi has played in bringing it to this level. Otherwise, this was PM Modi’s eighth visit to the US since 2014.
PM Modi had last addressed the US Congress in June 2016. He is the only Indian leader and one of the very few world leaders to have been invited to address the US Congress more than once. The last Indian leader to travel to the US for an Official State Visit was Dr Manmohan Singh in 2009.
Current State of Play
The upward momentum of bilateral relations during President Trump’s tenure got a further shot in the arm during President Biden’s current term from January 2021.
President Biden’s term has witnessed extremely warm interactions between him and PM Modi. The personal warmth and respect between the two leaders has been visible during their meetings over the last several months including at Hiroshima for the G7 and Quad Summits (May, 2023); in Bali at the G20 Summit (November, 2022); at the G7 Summit in Elmau, Germany (June, 2022); at the G20 Summit in Italy in October, 2021, and many more.
Also, notwithstanding the fact that Biden has been actively engaged with the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict, he has not taken his eyes off the Indo-Pacific. Five Summit level interactions amongst the Quad (Australia, Japan, India, USA) leaders have taken place over 25 months.’
Today there is a convergence not only of values but also of interests between India and the US. Some issues that bring the two countries together encompass the fight against terrorism, particularly emanating from Pakistan; China’s expansionism and belligerence; defence cooperation and intelligence-exchange; US interest in India’s domestic market; presence of a large and influential Indian diaspora in the US; India’s need for infusion of capital and technology for its rapid economic growth etc.
Today the two countries have more than 60 bilateral dialogue mechanisms encompassing Renewable Energy, Climate Change, IT, Innovation, Healthcare, Agriculture, Cyber Security and more.
The US has emerged as the second largest supplier of defence equipment to India. India does more defence exercises with the USA than with any other partner.
Some Concrete Developments
Recent months have witnessed a huge fillip to the bilateral partnership in technology-industrial cooperation through several meetings, visits and interactions at senior levels. All these decisions have seamlessly integrated into outcomes of PM Modi’s visit.
The US-India CEO Forum was soft-launched in November 2022. The key priorities include increasing supply chain resilience; enhancing energy security & reducing overall greenhouse gas emissions; advancing inclusive digital trade; and facilitating post-pandemic economic recovery, especially for small businesses.
The Initiative on Critical and Emergent Technologies (iCET) was mooted during the meeting between PM Modi and President Biden on the sidelines of the Quad Summit in Tokyo in May 2022. This was intended to elevate the bilateral strategic technology partnership and defense-industrial cooperation. It was taken forward in discussions between NSA Ajit Doval and his US counterpart Jake Sullivan during the former’s visit to the US in January 2023 and by the return visit of NSA Sullivan to India on 13th-14th June 2023. iCET is designed to ‘’forge closer linkages between government, academia and industry in areas such as AI, quantum computing, 5G/6G, biotech, space and semiconductors.”
Convergence
When relations between any two countries are so wide-ranging, it is but natural that there will be a few areas of disagreement. In spite of some differences between them, both India and the US recognize that the areas of bilateral convergence are far more important. The challenge before the leadership of the two countries is to focus, build upon and expand the areas of convergence while continuing to have honest conversations on the differences.
With strong and visionary leadership in the two countries, India-US bilateral ties can be expected to scale even greater heights in the years to come. PM Modi’s historic visit to the US will play a vital and decisive role in achieving this objective.
US semiconductor giant Micron to invest $825 mn
Micron Technology, Inc., one of the world’s largest semiconductor companies, has announced plans to construct a new semiconductor assembly and test facility in Gujarat, India. The announcement came during the Prime Minister’s state visit to the US.
Micron’s investment in the project will be up to $825 million over two phases, and it is expected to create up to 5,000 new direct Micron jobs and 15,000 community jobs over the next several years.
India has reportedly agreed to provide production-linked incentives worth 110 billion rupees ($1.34 billion) for the plant, which is set to be built in Gujarat.
