(1/2)US President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden meet with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Washington, US on June 21, 2023. Office of Indian Press Information/Handout via REUTERS
WASHINGTON, June 22 (Reuters) – President Joe Biden aims to herald the start of a stronger US-India relationship on Thursday by announcing a series of defense and trade deals with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi as Washington tries to counteract China’s global influence.
Biden is rolling out the red carpet for Modi, inviting him to a colorful arrival ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House on Thursday morning, followed by talks in the Oval Office and a glittering state dinner in the evening. The two leaders held a private and intimate dinner at the White House on Wednesday night.
In a rare gesture, Modi has agreed to take questions of reporters with Biden at the White House on Thursday. Modi has not held a news conference since he became prime minister nine years ago and his visit drew attention to human rights concerns in India.
Washington wants India to be a strategic counterweight to China and sees India as a critical partnership. Modi is seeking to increase the influence that India, the world’s most populous country with 1.4 billion people, has on the world stage in the wake of strained ties with neighboring China.
Senior Biden administration officials said sweeping deals to be announced on semiconductors, critical minerals, technology, space cooperation and defense cooperation and sales will mark a new era in relations between the two countries.
Some of the deals aim to diversify supply chains to reduce reliance on China. The United States has also tried to address China’s growing influence in the Indo-Pacific region by strengthening defense ties with countries such as India and Australia.
The two leaders will sign what one official called a “groundbreaking” agreement to allow General Electric Co (GE.N) to produce jet engines in India to power Indian military aircraft. GE said Thursday that signed an MoU with Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd to produce the engines.
In addition, US Navy ships in the region will be allowed to stop at Indian shipyards for repairs under a maritime agreement reached between the two governments.
The leaders will also announce India’s plan to acquire the US-made armed MQ-9B SeaGuardian. dronesthe US officials said. “Now we have really entered a ‘next generation’ defense partnership,” the US official said.
The deals will include US chipmaker Micron Technology’s (MU.O) $2.7 billion plan for a new semiconductor packaging and test unit, to be built in Modi’s home state of Gujarat. United States too make it easier for skilled Indian workers to obtain and renew US visas.
AOC, MEMBERS OF THE MUSLIM CONGRESS TO BOYCOTT
The flurry of deals and deals comes as activists and some lawmakers have raised serious concerns about India’s democratic backsliding.
Biden is under pressure of his fellow Democrats to discuss human rights with Modi. Three progressive Democrats, US Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib, said they would boycott Modi’s speech to Congress on Thursday.
“I encourage my colleagues who stand up for pluralism, tolerance and press freedom to join me in doing the same,” Ocasio-Cortez said in a Twitter post on Wednesday.
Biden will raise concerns about press freedom, religious liberties and other issues in a respectful manner without “bullying, lecturing or berating,” a US official told reporters.
rights defenders, who plans to protest During Modi’s visit, he said on Wednesday that Biden should publicly denounce Modi’s rights record, saying the US administrations’ approach of raising issues privately with the Indian leader has not stopped what they described as the deterioration of rights. humans in India.
Modi has been to the United States five times since he became prime minister in 2014, but the trip will be his first with the full diplomatic status of a state visit.
Modi will address American CEOs at a reception on Friday, as American companies plan new investments in India.
He met with Tesla boss Elon Musk in New York on Tuesday, who later said he plans to make the vehicles available in India as soon as possible.
Musk said that Modi was entrepreneur the automaker to make a “significant investment” in the country, adding that such an announcement was expected soon.
Reporting by Steve Holland and Nandita Bose Editing by Shri Navaratnam, Heather Timmons and Sharon Singleton
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