Biden is planning a lavish formal welcome for Modi as he looks to strengthen ties

President Biden plans to roll out the red carpet on Thursday morning to formally welcome Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India to the White House for a pompous state visit designed to court the world’s most populous nation at a time of conflict with Russia and growing tension with China.

Mr Biden will celebrate India’s rise with a lavish display of friendship, marked by marching bands, guards of honor and a multi-gun salute on the South Lawn, weather permitting, followed by an Oval Office meeting and a state gala dinner. Mr Modi agreed to join Mr Biden in the East Room to meet with journalists and will also address a joint session of Congress in the afternoon.

The visit represents the final step on the geopolitical chessboard as Mr Biden seeks more allies against increasingly aggressive governments in Moscow and Beijing. India, which remained non-aligned during the Cold War, has refused to join the US-led coalition aiding Ukraine in its war against invading Russian forces. And while it shares a certain enmity with China, it hasn’t fully endorsed Washington’s strategy for dealing with the Asian giant.

Mr Modi started his day in New York on Wednesday, taking part in a group yoga session on the United Nations lawn in Manhattan in honor of International Yoga Day, an observance he helped the world organization start years ago.

He then traveled to Washington and along with Jill Biden, the first lady, visited the National Science Foundation in Alexandria, a Virginia suburb, to promote training programs for staff. In the evening, he arrived at the White House for a less formal welcome and a private dinner with Mr. Biden ahead of Thursday’s public festivities.

According to government officials, the two leaders plan to announce a long list of initiatives that will promote cooperation in telecommunications, semiconductors, artificial intelligence and other fields. Mr Modi plans to sign the Artemis Accords, a set of principles for peaceful exploration of the moon, Mars and other celestial bodies, and the two will announce a joint mission to the International Space Station in 2024.

One of the most concrete agreements to be announced is a deal between General Electric and state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited for the production in India of F414 engines used to power the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet . The two sides will also announce that India is going ahead with the long-delayed purchase of MQ-9B Predator drones from General Atomics for $3 billion.

The sale of military hardware may help keep India away from Russian arms suppliers, but otherwise officials ahead of the visit offered no indication that Modi would get any closer to supporting Ukraine in the war, nor were there concrete examples of more cooperation to China’s assertive moves in the Indo-Pacific region.

Government officials suggested the meeting was just one step in developing India’s stance on the war in Ukraine, part of what they characterized as “bending the bow of India’s involvement”, so New Delhi could be instrumental in encouraging of diplomacy when the time for negotiations finally arrives.

But in courting Mr. Modi, it was clear that Mr. Biden was taking a soft approach to the backsliding of democracy in India, where the government cracks down on dissent and pursues opponents. He will raise human rights issues, officials said, but they used the word “respectful” more than once to characterize the president’s approach.

They considered it a victory that the government had persuaded Mr Modi, who famously refuses to hold press conferences, to meet with reporters with Mr Biden, as most major world leaders do when they visit the White House. Even then, the White House avoided using the term “press conference”; according to the public program, the leaders would “answer questions from the press” in the East Room.

The state dinner is held on the South Lawn in a green-draped pavilion with saffron flowers, the colors of the Indian flag, on every table. Lotus flowers, an important symbol in India, will be incorporated throughout the decor. Images of the bald eagle and peacock, the national birds of the two countries, will be displayed as the background as the leaders make their traditional toasts.

The menu is vegetarian, in line with Mr. Modi’s diet, with an optional fish dish. The first course is a salad of marinated millet and grilled corn kernels with squeezed watermelon and avocado sauce, followed by a main course of stuffed portobello mushrooms and creamy risotto with saffron. A sumac-roasted sea bass is available upon request. For dessert, a rose and cardamom infused strawberry cake is served.

Joshua Bell, the Grammy-winning violinist, will perform, as will Penn Masala, a South Asian a cappella group founded by students at the University of Pennsylvania, and the chamber orchestra of the US Marine Band.

“After years of closer ties, the partnership between the US and India is deep and expanded as we jointly address global challenges,” said Dr. Biden to reporters on Wednesday in preview of the event. “But our relationship is not just about the government. We celebrate the families and friendships around the world, those who feel the bond of home, in both our countries.”