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India and the US upgraded their strategic partnership by a few crucial notches on the second day of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “state visit” to Washington, DC, with the signing of agreements spanning mega defence deals, semiconductors, critical minerals, cooperation in critical and emerging technology, artificial intelligence, quantum computing, telecommunications and space cooperation on Thursday.
The US could introduce in-country renewable H-1B visas, and it will open consulates in Bengaluru and Ahmedabad, while India will establish a mission in Seattle.
In reply to a question on human rights in India at the joint press conference after their delegation-level talks, US President Joe Biden said: “Prime Minister (Modi) and I had a good discussion on democratic values. There is an overwhelming respect for each other because we are democracies. It is a common democratic character of both our countries — our diversity, culture and open, tolerant debate. We believe in the dignity of every citizen.”
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said government benefits reached every citizen without any discrimination in India. “Democracy is in our DNA, and we live it …There’s no discrimination on the basis of caste, religion or region,” he said.
In an interview to a US private channel, former US president Barack Obama said that India might start “pulling apart” if the government did not protect the rights of minorities. Biden said bilateral trade had doubled over the past decade to more than $191 billion, supporting tens of thousands of good jobs in India and the United States.
Additionally, the US President said that 1 million American jobs across 44 states would be supported by the purchase of more than 200 American-made Boeing aircraft by Air India.
“With this visit, Indian firms are announcing more than $2 billion in new investment in manufacturing and solar in Colorado, steel in Ohio, optic fibre in South Carolina and much more, proving that manufacturing in America is back,” Biden said.
Modi said India had decided to end all pending trade issues with the US and termed the transfer of technology to manufacture fighter jet engines in India a “landmark” agreement. He said India’s decision to join the Artemis Accord proved that “even the sky is not the limit” for India-US ties.
Biden said the US would put an Indian in space in 2024.
On the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Biden said, “Today we also talked about our shared efforts to mitigate the humanitarian tragedies unleashed by Russia’s brutal war in Ukraine and to defend the core principles of the UN Charter on sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
In both form and substance, the PM’s visit has rivalled any undertaken by his predecessors, officials said. US President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill hosted him at an intimate dinner on Wednesday at the White House. On Thursday, Modi received a colourful White House South Lawn arrival ceremony, including a 21-gun salute, attended by 7,000 guests, held one-on-one talks with Biden, and subsequently the bilateral delegation-level talks.
At the start of his talks with the US president, Modi said: “India and the US are walking shoulder-to-shoulder from the depths of the ocean to heights of the sky, from ancient culture to artificial intelligence,” adding that Biden’s commitment to their bond has inspired his country to take “bold and audacious” steps.
With the US trying to wean India from relying on Russia for its military equipment needs, imploring it to take an unambiguous stand on the Ukraine conflict, and play a more empowered role as a strategic counterweight to China, Biden described the India-US relationship as one of the most defining relationships in the 21st century.
“With your cooperation, we have strengthened the Quad for a free, open, secure and prosperous Indo-Pacific. Decades from now, people will look back and say that the Quad bent the arc of history for the global good,” Biden said.
The US President said the two countries are working “together” to eliminate poverty, expand access to healthcare, address climate change, and tackle food and energy insecurity triggered by the Russian war on Ukraine. He said the exchange of critical and emerging technology would be the pillar of the India-US next-generation partnership, which comes at a once-in-a-generation inflexion point in world affairs. The US President stressed the two countries could showcase the greatness of democratic values with their example and commitment to equality of law, freedom of expression, plurality, diversity of people, tolerance and opportunity for all.
Modi said that a new world order was taking shape post-Covid, and the “strong” India-US strategic partnership was committed to the global good, peace, stability and prosperity. The PM said the US and India were based on democratic values, and both countries took pride in their diversity, echoing Biden that the constitution of both countries began with the three words “We the People”.
Modi said this was the first time the gates of the White House had been opened for Indian-Americans in such large numbers and thanked the Bidens for the grand welcome ceremony at the White House, which was an honour and pride for the 1.4 billion people of India.
On Wednesday, the PM participated in the “Skilling For Future Event”, organised by the National Science Foundation (NSF), where he said that “for India and the US, it is important to ensure a pipeline of talent” to maintain the momentum of growth.
The US has the world’s top educational institutions and advanced technologies, while India is the world’s biggest “yuva (youth) factory”, Modi said.
Later in the day, the PM was scheduled to address a joint Congress sitting, joining a select list of world leaders to have addressed it more than once.
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