US President Joe Biden will host Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during an official state visit by the Indian leader on June 22, the White House announced on Wednesday. The move by the US is an effort to strengthen ties with the biggest democracy in the world.
Elaborating about Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit, Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said, “The visit will strengthen our two countries’ shared commitment to a free, open, prosperous and secure Indo-Pacific and our shared resolve to elevate our strategic technology partnership, including in defense, clean energy, and space.”
When reporters asked regarding human rights concerns in India, Jean-Pierre said, “this is an important relationship that we need to continue and build on as it relates to human rights.”
The United States and India established a partnership to strengthen ties on military hardware, semiconductors, and artificial intelligence during India’s national security advisor Ajit Doval’s visit to Washington in February this year.
Biden’s idea behind strengthening relations with India is associated with his effort to be successful in winning the challenge that, according to him, the free and autocratic societies, especially China, pose.
India’s continued trade relations with Russia, wherein the Asian nation purchases crude oil—a crucial source of finance for the conflict in Ukraine-from the communist nation, has irritated the US which has pressurised India to penalize Russia more for its invasion act.
Despite having similar concerns about Beijing’s escalating power, Ashley Tellis, a former US government official who worked for the US to engage closely with India, stated in the magazine Foreign Affairs that Washington’s expectations of US-India relations are misplaced, particularly when it comes to China. Though the United States has emphasized on “contributions toward coalition defense,” he wrote, “New Delhi sees things differently. It does not presume that American assistance imposes any further obligations on itself.”
After Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party and its allies won India’s elections in 2014, the former president Barack Obama extended an invitation to him to visit the White House. This seismic political shift gave the Hindu nationalist and his party the green light to enact comprehensive economic reform.
