Welcoming Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the White House this week for a state visit – the most elevated form of American diplomacy – will require President Joe Biden to make certain trade-offs.Modi, massively popular in India, has demonstrated a drift toward authoritarianism that has worried the West. He’s cracked down on dissent, targeted journalists and introduced policies that human rights groups say discriminate against Muslims.
Yet Modi and India, the world’s largest democracy, also represent a lynchpin in Biden’s strategy in Asia. The country recently surpassed China to become the most populous country on Earth. No major global challenge, from climate change to advances in technology, can be addressed without India’s buy-in, in Biden’s view. And in an era of growing tensions between the US and China, there are few partners that Biden is more eager to cultivate.
That, according to officials, was the rationale behind inviting Modi for a state visit, only the third of Biden’s presidency so far.And so, on Thursday the prime minister will be welcomed to the White House with the highest trappings of American friendship: Marching troops on the South Lawn, extensive Oval Office talks and a state dinner in the evening, complete with a chef who specializes in plant-based cuisine to accommodate Modi’s vegetarian diet.
The two leaders will hold a joint news conference – something virtually every state visit over the past two decades has featured – but that was only agreed upon after lengthy, delicate negotiations between the two sides. Indian officials initially balked at the White House’s insistence, two US officials familiar with the matter said. The ask was unwelcome territory for Modi, who does not hold news conferences in India, where press freedom groups say he’s overseen a crackdown on reporting.
The stakes are high for New Delhi and Washington as Prime Minister Modi begins his historic three-day visit to the United States today. As Foreign Minister S Jaishankar said, India expects “significant achievements”. The schedule, events and agenda set that made Modi the first Indian Prime Minister to address the US Congress twice symbolize a “deep and close partnership.”
The China question
Both sides have conceptual differences on the Indo-Pacific. The US takes the Indo-Pacific as a region where rules-based liberal international order needs to be preserved against the backdrop of China’s aggressive rise. In contrast, India considers the Indo-Pacific as an “inclusive” region and has categorically stated that the QUAD is not directed against any one country. Hence as Senior Adviser to India Policy Studies Richard M Rossow puts it, both the United States and India need to spend time on their shared and different views of the Indo-Pacific. In the wake of the divergences, QUAD’s objective of bringing collective capacities to come up with solutions to real problems in the Indo-Pacific has gained traction. One of the important areas that India needs to draw attention of the US and other QUAD partners is the security of critical chokepoints and maritime highways of the Indian Ocean Region. India has so far stuck to its Non-Alignment values avoiding alliance partnership with external powers. The US as a strategic partner must take that into consideration.
Indo-US technology partnership
Amidst the China-US semiconductor standoff, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the US is likely to give a boost to the Indo-US technology partnership, especially on the establishment of a new semiconductor supply chain where major announcements are expected. Two months after the US Congress passed the CHIPS and Science Act (a law that approves subsidies and tax breaks to help renewed indigenous production) in August 2022, the Joe Biden administration issued wide-ranging restrictions on the export to China of chips and chip-making technologies to undercut that country’s ability to manufacture the same class of integrated circuits. Amidst “healthy competition” between the US and China, as Janet Yellen would put it, India can expect to attract foreign investments and leverage it to achieve its “atma-nirbhar” (self-reliance) goal.
India’s neighborhood
In India’s neighborhood, an area that requires attention is the Af-Pak region. After the US withdrawal, China is emerging as a major player in Afghanistan that gives it access to the critical mineral reserves. Further, Pakistan and China have decided to go ahead with a plan to extend the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) to Afghanistan. Apart from the issue of China’s expanding sphere of influence, terrorism is an important challenge in the region that concerns both the US and India’s global commitment. In an important development, China on June 20th blocked a proposal by India and the US at the United Nations to designate Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist Sajid Mir, wanted for his involvement in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, as a global terrorist. This case also highlights the need for India and the US to jointly address the common challenges in the region.
Promoting global south
Demonstrating India’s commitment to bridging the gap between the Global North and the Global South, PM Modi recently urged the G20 members to invite the African Union as a member during the upcoming summit. Given that the US is now adapting its foreign policy for expanding its footprint in the Global South, New Delhi can be Washington’s bridge. During his visit to India in March, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said, “Prime Minister Modi is right that there are real challenges to the multilateral system” indicating that there’s room for US-India consultations on new-age multilateralism.
The way forward
India and the US have common issues like climate and clean energy, partnership for global good, and I2U2 that aims to forge cooperation and bring investment in areas such as water, energy, transportation, space, health, and food security as fundamentals. Forums like the US-India Commercial Dialogue and US-India CEO Forum should get activated to reinvigorate bilateral economic conversations. Overall, ensuring meaningful exchanges and discussion on shared strategic, regional, bilateral and global challenges would ensure a stronger future for India-US relations.
Source: Here