Outcome of Modi’s US visit: Sky flight of extended partnership, story of relations touching heights

Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the United States of America from 21 to 23 June 2023 for the eighth time during his tenure. The visit is symbolic of the dynamism of the India-US partnership and the importance that Prime Minister Modi attaches to the relationship with Washington. In his nine-year tenure, Prime Minister Modi has visited America the most number of times. Prime Minister Modi was invited by President Joe Biden and Jill Biden for his first official state visit to the United States of America. It was an important moment because state visits are rare in the US. Apart from this, Prime Minister Modi addressed the joint session of the US Congress on 22 June. Prime Minister Modi last addressed the US Congress in June 2016. He is the only Indian leader and one of the very few world leaders who has been invited to address the US Congress more than once. The last Indian leader to visit the US for an official state visit was Manmohan Singh in 2009. Singh also addressed the US Congress in 2005.

Prime Minister Modi’s visit and address to the US Congress shows how much President Biden values ​​the US partnership with India and Prime Minister Modi’s contribution in getting it to this level. The visit strengthened the commitment of both countries towards a free, open, prosperous and inclusive Indo-Pacific. In India, all prime ministers over the past 23 years have worked to expand India-US bilateral relations. Prime Minister Modi’s contribution to the development of India-US relations has been remarkably significant. There is strong bipartisan support in both countries for a vibrant relationship between the two countries. This has made the India-US partnership one of the most important and defining relationships of our time.

current friendship status

The warmth, respect and rapport between Prime Minister Modi and President Biden has been clearly visible during several recent incidents. These include the G7 and Quad summits in Hiroshima, the G20 summit in Bali, the G7 summit in Germany, the G20 summit in Italy and many more. Additionally, Biden’s engagement in the Russia-Ukraine conflict has not diminished his commitment to the Indo-Pacific. There have been five summit-level talks between the leaders of the Quad (Australia, India, Japan, US) in the last 25 months. This extraordinary focus on the Quad reflects the resolve of the leaders of the US and India as well to strengthen their partnership and to effectively push back against China’s growing expansionism. Today there is a convergence of values ​​and interests between India and America. Some of these emerging areas of shared interest include the fight against terrorism, resistance to Chinese expansionism, the attractiveness of India’s vast and expanding domestic market to the US, the presence of a large and influential Indian diaspora in the US, etc. is a big factor. The United States and India have more than 60 bilateral dialogue mechanisms. These include platforms for cooperation in renewable energy, climate change, information technology, health care, agriculture, cyber security and many more. The US has emerged as one of the top three suppliers of defense equipment to India. India also conducts more defense exercises with the US than with any other partner.

What was the outcome of PM Modi’s visit to America?

The decisive push for high technology collaboration between the two democracies has emerged as the most important aspect of the visit. It is clear that the US has taken a strategic decision to place India among the most technologically advanced nations. In the past, the US has been reluctant to share its cutting edge technologies with India. It appears that the situation has changed radically. This is evidence of the growing trust and confidence between the two leaders and countries. The visit shared the resolve of the two leaders to elevate their strategic technology partners including defence, critical and emerging technologies, clean energy, telecommunications, resilient supply chains, open RAN, 5G/6G technologies, AI, quantum computing, space, semiconductor emphasised. In addition, multi-billion dollar investments in India were announced by several US companies such as Google Alphabet, Applied Materials, LAM and others. An MoU was signed on Semiconductor Supply Chain and Innovation Partnership to promote business opportunities, research, talent and skill development. Micron Technology, Inc. announced that it will invest up to $825 million to build a new semiconductor assembly and test facility in India. The combined investment in this venture, valued at $2.75 billion, will create several thousand jobs. A total of 35 innovative joint research collaborations were identified in emerging technologies, which will be funded by the US National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Indian Department of Science and Technology (DST).

Indo-US relations touching heights

Geopolitical uncertainty and flux have played a significant role in this development. India’s impressive economic and military growth in recent years, the competent manner in which India has dealt with the two Black Swan events of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine conflict, its confident and confident conduct of foreign policy, etc. have also contributed significantly to this result. India has emerged as the preferred partner for finding solutions to some of the major challenges facing the world today like climate change, terrorism, economic development, health etc. America remains the world’s leading power in economic, military, technological, and global influence. However, in recent years, especially in the economic field, the gap between the US and China has narrowed significantly. China (and Russia) are convinced that America is at its peak and it is only a matter of time before the Chinese economy overtakes the American economy. Since Xi Jinping took power in 2012, China has become more aggressive in the South China Sea, East China Sea, Taiwan Strait and the LAC with India.