NEW DELHI, Feb 14: The Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s brief visit to the United States and his talks with the President Donald Trump is claimed to have yielded a number of fruitful results.
Mr Modi met Mr Trump at the White House for high-stakes discussions spanning defence, trade, technology and energy. Mr Trump showed the same warmth welcoming Mr Modi with a warm hug before they sat down for talks. The meeting, which follows PM Modi’s pit stop in France, came just hours after President Trump announced a new reciprocal tariff policy targeting all US trading partners, including India.
The Modi – Trump meeting announced the COMPACT (Catalyzing Opportunities for Military Partnership, Accelerated Commerce & Technology for the 21st Century), an initiative aimed at transforming bilateral cooperation across defence, investment, trade, energy, innovation, and multilateral partnerships.
Following are the key announcements emerging from the Modi – Trump meeting:
Defence
- A new 10-year framework for US-India Major Defence Partnership will be signed later this year. Key developments include expansion of US platforms in Indian defence services, with new deals for Javelin anti-tank missiles and Stryker armoured fighting vehicles and procurement of six additional P8I maritime surveillance aircraft.
- A review of International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) to streamline technology transfers and spare part supplies. Opening negotiations for a Reciprocal Defence Procurement (RDP) agreement, expected to facilitate mutual defence purchases.
- Acceleration of defence technology collaboration across space, air defence, missile, maritime, and undersea warfare. The US announced a policy review on releasing fifth-generation fighter jets and undersea warfare systems to India.
- India and the US launched the Autonomous Systems Industry Alliance (ASIA) to scale industry partnerships in underwater domain awareness (UDA) technologies. India is the first country with which the US has agreed to co-develop sensitive UDA technologies.
- Discussions are ongoing for joint development and production of Sea Picket Autonomous Surveillance Systems (Thayer Mahan), Wave Glider Unmanned Surface Vehicles (Boeing & Sagar Defence Engineering – 60 units planned for India), Low Frequency Active Towed Sonars (L3 Harris & Bharat Electronics), Multi-Static Active Sonobuoys (Ultra-Maritime & Bharat Dynamics Ltd.), Large Diameter Autonomous Undersea Vehicles (Anduril) and Triton Autonomous Underwater and Surface Vehicles (Ocean Aero).
Trade
- On the economic front, both leaders set a new target — “Mission 500” — to increase bilateral trade to $500 billion by 2030.
- Some of the major economic pacts include a bilateral trade agreement (BTA) by autumn 2025, covering multiple sectors and a commitment to resolving trade barriers, including the controversial reciprocal tariffs.
- Recognition of Indian investments worth $7.355 billion in the US, supporting 3,000 high-quality jobs.
- The trade discussions took place against the backdrop of Trump’s 25 per cent tariff on global steel and aluminium imports, a move that could impact Indian exports.
Technology
- India and the US announced the TRUST (“Transforming the Relationship Utilizing Strategic Technology”) Initiative which will facilitate partnerships between governments, academia, and the private sector in critical and emerging technologies.
- A US-India AI Roadmap to be finalised by the end of the year. Next-generation data centres and AI processing partnerships were also announced.
- INDUS Innovation, modelled after INDUS-X, to advance industry-academic collaboration in space, energy, and biotechnology.
- Expansion of Indian pharmaceutical manufacturing in the US, particularly for critical medicines.
- A Strategic Mineral Recovery initiative to recover and process rare earth minerals, lithium, and cobalt for high-tech industries.
- An MoU was also signed between the US National Science Foundation (NSF) and India’s Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF) to boost research collaboration in emerging technologies.
Energy
- PM Modi and President Trump recommitted to the India-US Energy Security Partnership, with plans to support India’s full membership in the International Energy Agency (IEA).
- Move forward with the India-US 123 Civil Nuclear Agreement, enabling US-designed nuclear reactors in India.
- Collaborate on advanced small modular reactors to scale up nuclear energy production.
People-To-People Ties: Migration
- Both leaders committed to expanding joint degrees, offshore campuses, and Centres of Excellence. The 300,000-strong Indian student community in the US contributes over $8 billion annually to the economy.
- Streamlining student and professional mobility, while addressing illegal immigration and human trafficking.
- Strengthening law enforcement ties to combat organised crime, drug trafficking, and terrorism.
Multilateral Cooperation
- On counterterrorism, both countries condemned Pakistan’s failure to act against terrorist networks, demanding accountability for the 26/11 Mumbai and Pathankot attacks.
- President Trump announced that the extradition of 26/11 convict Tahawwur Rana to India has been approved.
- The Quad alliance (India, US, Japan, Australia), with PM Modi set to host President Trump for the next Quad Leaders’ Summit.
- The India-Middle East-Europe Corridor (IMEC) and I2U2 Group, with plans to announce new initiatives in 2025.
- The Indian Ocean Strategic Venture, a forum for economic and security cooperation.
- Tech giant Meta’s announcement of a 50,000 km undersea cable project.
(Manas Dasgupta)