Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be the guest of honor at a state dinner at the White House this Thursday evening, just the third of Joe Biden’s term in office. The US rolls out the red carpet to the head of government of the world’s most populous country in hopes of helping curb China’s growing influence in Asia-Pacific and the world, but also sweetens the visit with defense deals. New Delhi to fend off its biggest ally in this area, Russia.
Modi arrived in the US on Tuesday, but the official agenda did not begin until Wednesday with several meetings in New York, including with Twitter and Tesla owner Elon Musk, aimed at attracting foreign investment to India. In addition, he participated in events dedicated to the International Day of Yoga at the United Nations, which he helped create in 2014. “It’s great to see the whole world united again. To practice yoga,” he said in a speech before starting the practice, along with people from 135 countries – a new Guinness record, according to this organization.
He then headed to Washington, where a private dinner with the Bidens was scheduled, more intimate than Thursday’s pompous state dinner at the White House — only French President Emmanuel Macron and South Korean Yoon Suk Yeol were received with the same honor in the Biden presidency. Since Modi is a vegetarian, the three-course menu was created with the help of chief Nina Curtis, specialist in this kind of cuisine.
However, before that, Modi must address both Houses of Congress – it will be the second time in nine years since he took office in 2014, after visiting the US five times. Dozens of Democratic congressmen wrote a letter to Biden asking him to address India’s human rights violations – the concern relates to religious intolerance, persecution of certain social groups, freedom of the press or access to the internet. White House security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters on Tuesday that the US president should give his opinion on the matter, but without wanting to lecture Modi.
The Indian Prime Minister’s visit will conclude on Friday with a luncheon scheduled at the Foreign Office with Vice President Kamala Harris, whose mother was of Indian descent, and Secretary of State Antony Blinken. The day will conclude with a speech to the Indian diaspora at the Ronald Reagan Center.
state dinner
But it is at the state dinner that Biden will roll out the red carpet to Modi, leader of the country that this year became the world’s most populous country (1.4 billion people), surpassing China. This trip serves precisely to strengthen ties with New Delhi in the face of the threat from Beijing, not only at a regional but also at a global level. Biden sees India as a vital partner in stopping the expansion of Chinese influence around the world and strengthening security in the Indo-Pacific region, with these interests converging with the Indians themselves – who are no strangers to border issues with the Chinese.
On a diplomatic level, Washington is committed to reopening dialogue with China and easing tensions, as evidenced by Monday’s meeting between US Secretary of State and Chinese President Xi Jinping. But at the same time, the US believes that this country poses the “biggest threat” to its national security and wants to build and strengthen alliances to face Beijing. Also because the most recent reconciliation did not last long.
Biden has angered China again after, at a Tuesday night fundraising event in California, he compared Xi Jinping to “dictators”. The US president spoke about the case of the spy balloon (the Chinese said it was a civilian meteorological device that went off course) shot down after flying over the US, claiming that its counterpart was “embarrassed” for using the balloon was there. “That’s the shame of dictators, if they don’t know something is going on,” he said. Beijing called the comments “ridiculous” and a “political provocation”.
dependence on Russia
Modi’s visit to Washington also serves to try to distract India from Russia’s influence, but this mission is complicated by the Indians’ reliance on guns in Moscow. New Delhi did not condemn the invasion of Ukraine and abstained on United Nations votes, also taking advantage of lower Russian oil prices to increase black gold imports. “We are not neutral, we are on the side of peace,” Modi said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal before leaving for the US.
One of the agreements expected during the visit, which New Delhi sees as a “historic” opportunity to “expand and consolidate ties between the two countries”, should be at the strategic technology level, including an agreement to jointly produce fighter jet engines and remove barriers to access to advanced technology. Earlier this month, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin announced an “ambitious” plan for cooperation in the defense industry during a visit to India. The idea is that India will produce more weapons and equipment, not only for its military, but also for export, making the country less dependent on Russia.
Source: DN
