Tuesday saw the departure of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on a historic ‘State Visit’ to the United States, the highest level of diplomatic honour given to closest allies. During the visit, an unprecedented agreement on the transfer of jet engine technology is also anticipated. PM Modi also took to Twitter and tweeted, “Leaving for USA, where I will attend programmes in New York City and Washington DC. These programmes include Yoga Day celebrations at the @UN HQ, talks with @POTUS @JoeBiden, address to the Joint Session of the US Congress and more.”
As the Prime Minister of India, PM Modi is making his sixth trip there. During the next four days, PM Modi will meet with business executives and Indian expatriates, give a rare speech to the US Congress’ joint session, and attend a state banquet at the White House with US Vice President Joe Biden. The Prime Minister will give a second speech to the US Congress on Thursday. The House of Representatives and the Senate extended the invitation to give the address.
The visit is anticipated to strengthen a new relationship that is supported by not just global politics but also commerce and economics by giving India access to crucial American technologies that Washington rarely shares with allies. During Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s trip to the US commencing on June 21, India and the US are also prepared to announce a strategy for industries in the sector to collaborate closely in co-production, co-development, and maintaining supply change.
During his first state visit to the US, Prime Minister Modi will also speak with President Joe Biden about improving trade and investment ties as well as creating tighter ties in the technological sector, which includes manufacturing, telecom, and space.
The prime minister will travel to Egypt from June 24 to 25, at the invitation of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, according to Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra. While there, he will visit the 11th-century mosque Al-Hakim, which the Bohra community restored and renovated. The Defence Industrial Cooperation Roadmap, according to the foreign secretary, is anticipated to be one of the major outcomes of Prime Minister Modi’s visit to the US.
The majority of its attention is given to co-production and co-development in the defence industry. It also discusses how the two countries’ defence industrial ecosystems may work together more effectively and how supply chains for the sector could interface more effectively, according to him.
Defence cooperation, according to Kwatra, is a “key pillar” of India’s relations with the US. The India-US defence alliance is highly strong and dynamic, and it contains all the significant components that make it so crucial, according to the whole matrix.
“We conduct several bilateral military drills that are both bilateral and regional in scope. Staff engagement exists in the armed forces. Additionally, India is responsible for deploying US platforms and equipment. India uses some of them, he claimed.
The difficulties presented by occurrences like the attempts to stir unrest outside the Indian embassy in Washington would also be at the top of Biden and Modi’s list of concerns. “The underlying intent and goal of such attacks is something (about) that we are concerned (about), and we have shared those concerns with the countries where such organisations operate very actively and very completely,” Kwatra added.
PM Modi will start his trip to the US in New York, where he will preside over the ceremonies for International Yoga Day at the UN building and meet with important figures and leaders on June 21. The same day, he will fly to Washington, D.C., where he will meet with President Biden and First Lady Jill Biden for a personal engagement.
On June 22, there will be a formal welcome for Prime Minister Modi at the White House, which will be followed by a formal bilateral meeting with Biden. On Thursday night, President Biden and First Lady Jill Biden will also throw a state dinner in Modi’s honour. The Prime Minister will meet with a limited group of top business executives on Friday. Later, a state luncheon will be hosted by US Vice President Kamala Harris and Secretary of State Antony Bilnken.
At the Reagan Centre, Prime Minister Modi will also address the Indian-American community. It marks a turning point in our romance. It is a very important visit, one that has generated genuine, widespread, and intense interest in the US, according to Kwatra, who also noted that Modi has made six trips to the country since 2014. Regarding planned demonstrations against PM Modi’s visit to the US, Kwatra claimed that India saw the visit through an entirely different lens.
“We notice a strong, pervasive favourable interest in the US during the tour. We are aware of the beneficial things we have done in the relationship and can back them up with facts. We are resolute and focused on moving to the new strategic partnership domains, which are essential not just for cooperation between our two cultures, two nations, and two systems, but which would also be net contributors to global developments, according to Kwatra.
He claimed that the level of enthusiasm was palpable throughout the different segments of the US system. You can tell the frame of reference in which the two systems are viewing the relationship by looking at how widely it has been covered in the media, according to Kwatra.
Kwatra stated that India has always had a clear view on the situation in Myanmar and that the US side appreciated it. “Let’s not forget that our border with Myanmar is quite long. We share a border with Myanmar. We operate in a fundamentally different context when it comes to our relationship in Myanmar. Even throughout Myanmar’s so-called challenging times, we kept up with our extensive humanitarian assistance and development partnership with Myanmar, the foreign secretary added.
As neighbours, Kwatra added, “We have always wished and worked in that direction so that the country remains peaceful and stable.”
