State visit Modi: Modi and Biden meet to strengthen India-US relations

“I have long believed that the relationship between the United States and India will be one of the defining relationships of the 21st century,” Biden told a crowd gathered on the South Lawn, “two proud nations whose love of freedom is our independence, bound by the same words in our constitution, the first three words, ‘we the people.’”

Mr Modi thanked Mr Biden for the honor of a state visit and also suggested that the two nations could face international challenges together. “In the post-Covid era, the world order is taking on a new shape,” he said through a translator. “During this period, the friendship between India and the US will play an important role in strengthening the strength of the whole world.”

The visit is the latest move on the geopolitical chessboard as Mr Biden seeks more allies against increasingly aggressive governments in Moscow and Beijing. India, staunchly unaligned during the Cold War, has refused to join the American-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.

India whose population recently surpassed that of China to lead the world, represents perhaps the most important of the so-called Global South countries that Mr Biden is targeting, both for its economic potential and for its geopolitical position. And Mr Modi, without directly referring to it in his own remarks at the arrival ceremony, nevertheless alluded to India’s growing power, mentioning its population of 1.4 billion three times in just a few minutes.

To mark their ties, the two leaders planned to announce a long list of initiatives that will promote cooperation in telecommunications, semiconductors, artificial intelligence and other fields, government officials said. Mr Modi planned 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.

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

But in cultivating Mr. Modi, who before becoming prime minister refused a US visa due to his role in a deadly religious riot in his home state, it was clear that Mr Biden was taking a soft approach return to democracy in India, where the government has cracked down on dissent and hounded opponents. In his welcome remarks, Mr. Biden described the two countries as fellow democracies committed to universal values, without directly mentioning India’s increasing oppression of minority groups and opposition voices.

“Equality under the law, freedom of speech, religious pluralism, diversity of our people – these core principles have endured and evolved even as they have faced challenges throughout the history of each of our nations, and will define our strength, depth and future. feed,” Mr Biden said.

Officials said the president will raise human rights issues at his later private meeting with Mr Modi, but when briefing reporters ahead of the visit, they used the word “respectfully” more than once to explain Mr Biden’s approach. type.

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.

Several Liberal Democrats in Congress plan to boycott Mr Modi’s speech ahead of a joint session later on Thursday. “A joint address is one of the most prestigious invitations and awards the United States Congress can bestow,” said Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York. wrote on Twitter. “We shouldn’t be doing this for individuals with a very disturbing human rights record.”

The scene on the South Lawn in the morning underlined the increasing role of Indian Americans in the United States as crowds of thousands gathered on a gloomy, overcast day to cheer the Prime Minister’s visit and shout “Modi, Modi!”

Mr Biden pointed to the prevalence of Indian Americans in positions of prominence. “We see it here in the White House, where proud Americans of Indian descent serve our country every day — including our Vice President of the United States, Kamala Harris,” he said, turning to Ms. was standing.

The mother of Mrs. Harris immigrated from India to the United States as a teenager and Mr Biden quoted the story of “a family like so many of us in our country that speaks to the thousands of stories of determination, courage and hope.”

The state dinner, only the third of Mr Biden’s presidency, will be held on the South Lawn in a green-draped pavilion with saffron flowers, the colors of the Indian flag, at each 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.