Although there are worries about human rights in India, US President Joe Biden and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi are anticipated to increase defense and technology collaboration between their nations during their visit to the White House.
A tour of the National Science Foundation was postponed because Modi was running late, and Biden attended a private dinner with the Bidens. India is seen by the US as a crucial partner and as a geopolitical counterweight to China.
Strengthen Relations
During the visit, Modi is anticipated to express U.S. concerns about India’s democratic slide under the control of his Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party. Business agreements in artificial intelligence (AI), quantum computing, and investments by Micron Technology and other US companies in India are anticipated during Modi’s visit, and US companies are warmly greeting him.
Modi noted that India was training students in AI and had opened labs all around the country, and he extended an invitation to American students to visit. As of last year, there were more than 200,000 Indian students enrolled in American universities.
- US-Indian leaders discuss defense, technology collaboration amid human rights concerns.
- India trains AI students and invites American students.
- Biden and Modi discuss China’s military, technology, and economy involvement.
Since becoming prime minister approximately nine years ago, Modi has not spoken at a single press conference in India, so the visit is uncommon. Rights activists, who intend to demonstrate during the visit, have criticized Modi’s record on human rights, saying that the tactic of bringing up issues in private with the Indian leader has not resulted in a decline in such rights in India.
Beijing’s stretching its muscles in the Indo-Pacific and beyond is a problem for both Biden and Modi. Despite the fact that the visit is not about China, the topic of China’s involvement in the military, technology, and economy will be discussed.
New Delhi has irritated Washington by preserving some defense and economic connections with Russia after the invasion of Ukraine. New Delhi frequently values its non-alignment in wars between great powers abroad.
As part of a larger initiative by India to purchase weapons from sources other than its traditional supplier Moscow, Biden, and Modi will make announcements on the “co-development and co-production of military equipment, including some very complex systems.
Washington accepts that India will continue to purchase Russian oil from the country at extremely low costs that are below a price cap set by Western countries.
