CNAS Responds: Prime Minister Modi's Official Visit to the White House

On Thursday, June 22, India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi will meet with President Joe Biden at the White House in Washington, D.C.

To shed light on the implications of this visit and its potential impact on U.S.-India relations moving forward, Lisa Curtis, Senior Fellow and Director of the Indo-Pacific Security Program at the Center for a New American Security (CNAS), shares her perspective on the significance of this meeting and its potential outcomes.

All quotes may be used with attribution. To arrange an interview, email Alexa Whaley at awhaley@cnas.org.

---

Lisa Curtis, Senior Fellow and Director of the Indo-Pacific Security Program:

“Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the White House this week will showcase the strength and resilience of the U.S.-India partnership and the importance the Biden administration attaches to India’s role in challenging China’s rise in the region. In addition to the symbolic importance of PM Modi addressing a joint session of Congress and being feted at a state dinner, there also will likely be plenty of substantial deliverables.  

On the defense front, Washington will likely announce a deal to co-produce jet engines with India, a pathbreaking initiative that will build trust and confidence in the security partnership and mark a step change in India’s defense production capabilities. India also is likely to finally sign a deal to buy MQ-9B Predator armed drones from U.S. manufacturer General Atomics. The MQ-9Bs will sharpen India’s defenses against China by allowing it to monitor Chinese troop movements along their disputed border and by improving its naval surveillance capabilities to track Chinese maritime activities in the Indian Ocean.     

The two leaders are also expected to advance the Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technologies (iCET), which was launched over a year ago to expand cooperation in AI, quantum computing, and advanced wireless communications and catalyze defense innovation and co-production. This high-tech collaboration will bolster both countries’ ability to compete effectively with China and contribute to deterrence in the region.   In the context of rising competition with China, the Biden administration’s approach of setting aside differences with India over Russia makes sense. While Washington must not condition its support for India on New Delhi reducing ties to Moscow, U.S. officials should note the connection between Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and what happens in the Indo-Pacific. India’s lack of condemnation of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine weakens the concept of territorial sovereignty globally, which has direct implications for India’s disputed borders with China.   

Biden is likely to privately address the issue of protection of religious minorities, but not trumpet the issue. He should appeal to India’s global leadership aspirations, noting the world looks to India to maintain its identity as a multireligious and pluralistic democracy, but at the same time do so with humility, acknowledging the United States is also an imperfect democracy.”