(This article forms a part of the View From India newsletter curated by The Hindu’s foreign affairs experts. To get the newsletter in your inbox every Monday, subscribe here.)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s first state visit to the United States last week was suitably headline news in both India and the US. Echoing former US President Barack Obama’s words, President Joseph Biden underlined his belief that the India-U.S. partnership will be one of the “defining relationships of the 21st century”. His statement assumed greater significance amid Washington’s increasingly strained ties with Beijing, that U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken sought to address during his China visit earlier this month. Our newsletter last week had a close look at it.
In substance, Mr. Modi’s engagement in the US yielded several new deals spanning areas such as high-end defence cooperation, semiconductor industry investments, and a partnership in quantum and advanced computing and AI. Sriram Lakshman tracked the visit in Washington DC. What really is the India-U.S. deal for 31 MQ-9B drones, and what are its capabilities? Dinakar Peri explains.
Meanwhile, Suhasini Haidar spoke to experts, who believe the Indo-U.S. push for jet engine production has better chances now than ever before.
The strategic message from Mr. Modi’s visit was unambiguous and clear – that the US considers India a close and valued partner. To New Delhi’s relief, areas of discord, such as the differences in policies towards Russia’s war in Ukraine, and confrontation with China, were sidestepped. India, too, in the clearest terms yet affirmed the U. S. as a “trusted” long-term partner in its plans for developing critical technologies while sending an unmistakable signal closing the door to China and its tech companies, Ananth Krishnan reports.
On the political front, Mr. Modi did not escape questions or comments, including from President Obama, who told CNN that India may “pull apart” if the rights of the religious and ethnic minorities are not upheld.
Even if human rights and democracy in India did not figure in President Biden’s message on the occasion, The Hindu editorial took a position that “If Mr. Modi wishes to address public concerns, however, he may find it more effective to make the case in a press conference on his return, emphasising his belief that “if there are no human values and there is no humanity, there are no human rights, then it cannot be called a democracy”.
Does Mr. Modi’s recent visit mark a major leap in Indo-US ties? Suhasini Haidar, in the latest episode of Worldview, offers a comprehensive analysis.
Kallol Bhattacherjee has the updates from Mr. Modi’s next stop in Egypt, before his return home.
The Top Five
- Stanly Johny writes on the extraordinary development in Russia this weekend – the Wager group mutiny and what it says about Putin’s armoured regime.
- Does the China-Pakistan nuclear deal flout global rules? Ananth Krishnan explains.
- Former diplomat Mahesh Sachdev, writes on ‘Squaring the circle at the India-Egypt summit’
- Outreach to diaspora and statesmanship: In protecting the interests of the Indian diaspora, State governments need to work with the central government, writes Prof. V. Suryanarayan.
- A people of an emerald isle, waiting with doosras: Gopalkrishna Gandhi writes on the future of Sri Lanka’s historically-marginalised Malaiyaha Tamils.
Published - June 26, 2023 02:05 pm IST