US President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden greet Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi as he arrives on the South Portico of the White House in Washington, DC. Modi is on the White House for a private dinner hosted by US President Joe Biden.
Mandel Ngan | AFP | Getty Images
The United States and India are set to announce a number of defense and technology collaborations on Thursday during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s state visit, US officials said.
From deepening defense and military ties to closer cooperation on technology and diversifying supply chains, senior administration officials discussed a wide selection of deals during a briefing with journalists.
“The nature, depth and breadth of our leads to this area is unprecedented,” one official said.
India has overtaken China because the world’s most populous country and is set to turn into the third largest economy in the approaching years.
“India might be a key strategic partner of america in the approaching a long time,” one official said.
“There isn’t any partner more significant now and in the long run than India,” the person said, adding that the bilateral partnership is “deeper and more expansive than ever before.”
“Now we instinctively have a look at one another and work together to keep the Indo-Pacific free and open,” the person said. “Our countries will shape the long run by working towards an open, prosperous, secure, stable and resilient world.”
Modi is making his first state visit to america, where he met with President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden, in addition to outstanding business leaders including Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Bridgewater Associates founder Ray Dalio.
The Indian leader will join Biden for Thursday’s press conference where the 2 leaders will answer questions from reporters, officials said. According to ReutersModi has not spoken at a single press conference in India since becoming prime minister in 2014, making this an especially rare occasion.
Military cooperation
On the defense front, officials highlighted three announcements.
India and the US are expected to announce a deal for the joint production of F414 jet engines in India, involving General Electric and Hindustan Aeronautics.
They are also expected to announce major ship repair deals that may lead to cost and time savings for the U.S. military – allowing U.S. Navy ships to be serviced and repaired at Indian shipyards.
Third, the so-called Indo-American Defense Acceleration Ecosystem will aim to integrate India’s burgeoning private sector defense industry with the US defense sector.
U.S. President Joe Biden greets Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi as he arrives on the South Portico of the White House in Washington, D.C., June 21, 2023.
Mandel Ngan | AFP | Getty Images
Military deals between these countries will help India secure its borders with China and Pakistan and hopefully reduce that country’s dependence on Russia for military supplies.
“India is actively engaged in diversification away from Russian military equipment… It is just not only america that’s involved on this diversification effort. It’s our allies and partners in France, Britain, Israel and elsewhere who are actively supporting efforts to secure India’s defense capabilities more generally,” senior administration officials said.
India can also be widely expected to buy SeaGuardian’s MQ-9B drones, which has long been hampered by bureaucracy.
“Truthfully, I feel Indians were surprised and delighted with the steps we were able to take to remove the bureaucratic obstacles to achieving this goal. So I feel we fully understand that it’ll be mandatory to proceed,” said a senior administration official.
Technical cooperation
Modi’s visit comes at a time when the US is adopting a “friendly support” strategy, moving away from China and tapping into the potential of other countries within the region.
In terms of technology, officials said US and Indian corporations will work together to construct semiconductor plants to promote supply chain diversification.
The two countries are also expected to announce agreements on strengthening critical mineral supply chains, developing telecommunications capabilities and working on the event of artificial intelligence.
Officials said Applied Materials can even announce the opening of a latest semiconductor center for commercialization and innovation in India.
“It is time for India to drive incredible growth and we glance forward to working with the Prime Minister and everyone in India to achieve a huge success together.” Materials used CEO Gary Dickerson said on Wednesday in a video interview posted on Modi’s official website YouTube page.
“Many corporations all over the world recognize the trust and great talent of India. I firmly consider that the time has come for India to shine,” said Dickerson.
The US also faces increasing competition from China within the space race.
NASA and the Indian Space Research Organization will collaborate this yr on a collaborative framework for manned spaceflight.
Attracting more Indian talent
Indian students “are heading in the right direction to turn into the most important foreign student community in america, with a 20 percent increase in only last yr,” officials said, adding that the US government wants to welcome more Indian students and staff.
The United States issued 125,000 student visas to Indian residents last yr – roughly one in five student visas and greater than visas issued to every other nationality. US Embassy in India he said in June.
“We might be interviewing more students this yr than ever before,” Brendan Mullarkey, India’s acting minister of consular affairs adviser, said earlier this month.
The US State Department may additionally make changes to how temporary work visas are renewed, senior administration officials said ahead of Thursday’s joint statement.
“The human dimension shouldn’t be underestimated,” the official said. “After we unveiled the Quad Education Initiative last yr, we were overwhelmed by the superb Indian candidates.”
“The diaspora community that connects India to america is engaged, enthusiastic and engaged. So I might just say there are a lot of aspects … that helped drive that relationship.”