Biden, Modi hail new era for US-India ties and tout deals
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[June 23, 2023]
By Nandita Bose and Patricia Zengerle
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Joe Biden and Narendra Modi hailed
a new era in their countries' relationship after the White House rolled
out the red carpet for the Indian prime minister on Thursday, touting
deals on defense and commerce aimed at countering China's global
influence.
“Two great nations, two great friends, and two great powers. Cheers,"
Biden told Modi in a toast at a state dinner. Modi said in reply: “You
are soft spoken, but when it comes to action, you are very strong.”
Though the countries are not formal treaty-bound allies and India has
long relished its independence, Washington wants Delhi to be a strategic
counterweight to China. While neither leader criticized Beijing directly
in official statements, they alluded to the Xi Jinping-led government.
"The dark clouds of coercion and confrontation are casting their shadow
in the Indo Pacific," Modi told Congress. "The stability of the region
has become one of the central concerns of our partnership."
After Biden and Modi spoke privately for more than two hours, a joint
statement included a warning of rising tensions and destabilizing
actions in the East and South China Sea and stressed the importance of
international law and freedom of navigation.
"The challenges and opportunities facing the world in this century
require that India and the United States work and lead together, and we
are," Biden said as he welcomed Modi to the White House.
The state dinner, held in a large, elaborately erected tent on the White
House South Lawn, featured a number of Silicon Valley executives on the
guest list, including Apple's Tim Cook, 23andMe CEO Anne Wojcicki,
Google CEO Sundar Pichai, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, among others.
With the slightly Indian-accented dinner, the Bidens followed a White
House tradition of serving guests from abroad food that has faint echoes
of home with a strong American bent.
Modi is seeking to raise the status that India, the world's most
populous country at 1.4 billion and fifth-largest economy, has on the
world stage as a manufacturing and diplomatic powerhouse while
navigating strained ties with China.
His participation in a White House press conference itself was a
reflection of contrasting political traditions, marking the first time
Modi has taken questions in such a format in his nine-year tenure. He
took one question apiece from an American and an Indian journalist
selected in advance, and dismissed criticism about India's human rights
record.
Washington has been frustrated by India's close ties with Russia while
Moscow wages war in Ukraine. Modi avoided direct mention of Russia, but
told lawmakers the conflict was "causing great pain in the region. Since
it involves major powers, the outcomes are severe."
BOYCOTTS AND WELCOME CROWDS
Modi's visit was not without controversy. The speech to Congress,
normally a bipartisan affirmation of a visiting leader from an allied
nation, was boycotted by some liberal lawmakers, who cited the Modi
government's treatment of India's Muslim minority.
"I encourage my colleagues who stand for pluralism, tolerance and
freedom of the press to join me in doing the same," Representative
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez tweeted on Wednesday.
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U.S. President Joe Biden and India's
Prime Minister Narendra Modi shake hands during an official state
dinner at the White House in Washington, U.S., June 22, 2023.
REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz
Modi's speech to the Congress also drew a crowd of on-lookers who
chanted "Modi, Modi" at applause lines.
As some 7,000 well-wishers gathered for a colorful opening ceremony
at the White House, a far smaller group of demonstrators gathered
blocks away to protest the Biden administration's coziness with Modi,
who leads the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party.
Asked by a U.S. reporter about what steps he would take to improve
the rights of Muslims and other minorities, Modi said "there's
absolutely no space for discrimination" in India.
Biden told reporters he and Modi had a straightforward discussion
about democratic values.
NEW US-INDIA DEALS
The two countries announced agreements on semiconductors, critical
minerals, technology, space cooperation and defense cooperation and
sales.
Some are aimed at diversifying supply chains to reduce dependence on
China. Others are aimed at cornering the market in advanced
technologies that may feature on the battlefields of the future.
They also ended disputes at the World Trade Organization, and India
removed some tariffs on U.S. goods.
The United States is India's largest trading partner but the U.S.
has much larger trading relationships with China, the EU, and North
American neighbors.
Biden and Modi signed off on a deal to allow General Electric to
produce jet engines in India to power Indian military aircraft,
through an agreement with Hindustan Aeronautics.
U.S. Navy ships in the region will be able to stop in Indian
shipyards for repairs under a maritime agreement, and India will
procure U.S.-made armed MQ-9B SeaGuardian drones.
U.S. chipmaker Micron Technology's plans a $2.7 billion
semiconductor testing and packaging unit, to be built in Modi's home
state of Gujarat. The U.S. will also make it easier for skilled
Indian workers to get and renew U.S. visas.
India also agreed to join the U.S.-led Artemis Accords on space
exploration and to work with NASA on a joint mission to the
International Space Station in 2024.
Indian Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra said the visit so far had been
"truly pathbreaking" and New Delhi is confident it will help take
the relationship with Washington to "higher reaches".
"The richness of form and substance of the visit clearly tells you
that it’s an exceptional, landmark, pathbreaking visit," Kwatra told
reporters.
"The decisions taken during the visit are truly transformative
across a wide range of areas. Naturally, it is something which is
possible when the countries have deep trust in each other and are in
it for long term."
(Reporting by Nandita Bose in Washington; Additional reporting by
Steve Holland, Rami Ayyub, Kanishka Singh, Patricia Zengerle, Trevor
Hunnicutt and YP Rajesh; Writing by Trevor Hunnicutt and Steve
Holland; Editing by Heather Timmons, Alistair Bell, Daniel Wallis,
Grant McCool and Michael Perry)
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