Roving Periscope: In bilateral with PM Modi, US President Biden woos India with more ‘gifts’
Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: While other world leaders are visiting India for a day or two to participate in the ongoing G-20 Summit (September 9 and 10), what is US President Joe Biden doing in New Delhi for four days (September 8 to 11)?
That sums up the US-India bonhomie to take their bilateral relations to the next level in an emerging global multipolarity.
Unlike the 58-paragraph statement issued in June during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s State Visit to the US, the joint statement released on Friday after his bilateral meeting with US President Joe Biden made no mention of regional and global issues, counter-terrorism or situation in the neighborhood including Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Myanmar.
In the fresh 29-para statement, the two leaders took the bilateral ties beyond what they had in June and made progress in a sweeping range of areas they had flagged then: from space research and cancer to critical technology and small modular nuclear reactors.
The Prime Minister’s Office said: “The two leaders also exchanged views on a number of regional and global issues. They agreed that the India-US partnership was beneficial not only for the people of the two countries but also for global good.”
PM Modi shared on X (formerly Twitter): “Our meeting was very productive. We were able to discuss numerous topics that will further economic and people-to-people linkages between India and the USA. The friendship between our nations will continue to play a great role in furthering global good.”
And President Biden said: “Great seeing you, Mr. Prime Minister. Today, and throughout the G-20, we’ll affirm that the United States-India partnership is stronger, closer, and more dynamic than at any time in history.”
While there was no mention of the festering Russia-Ukraine conflict, like in June, there was a reference to a “free, open, inclusive, and resilient Indo-Pacific” — an oblique reference to China’s aggressive behavior.
Interestingly, while President Biden is visiting ostensibly for the G-20 Summit, the event itself figured in the third paragraph and signals that New Delhi and Washington will work towards a joint communique.
The joint statement said they “re-emphasized that the shared values of freedom, democracy, human rights, inclusion, pluralism, and equal opportunities for all citizens are critical to the success our countries enjoy and that these values strengthen our relationship.”
But India’s key takeaways from the US are obvious.
On the GE jet engines deal, for example, they welcomed the forward movement — completion of the Congressional Notification process on August 29 and the commencement of negotiations for a commercial agreement between GE Aerospace and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) to manufacture GE F-414 jet engines in India.
In June, they welcomed India’s plans to procure General Atomics MQ-9B HALE UAVs (powerful drones). Now, President Biden welcomed the “issuance of a Letter of Request from the Ministry of Defense of India” to procure 31 such units expected to substantively enhance the intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities of India’s armed forces across all domains.
On small n-reactors, also, they also took the June commitment forward by flagging “intensified consultations between the relevant entities.”
President Biden congratulated PM Modi on India’s unmanned mission Chandrayaan-3’s historic landing near the South Pole of the Moon, and the successful launch of the country’s first solar mission, Aditya-L1 in the last few weeks. They welcomed efforts for the establishment of a working group for commercial space collaboration under the existing India-US Civil Space Joint Working Group, and decided to increase coordination on “planetary defense” and the protection of “Earth and space assets from the impact of asteroids and near-Earth objects.”
India’s National Investment and Infrastructure Fund and the US Development Finance Corporation have also exchanged letters of intent for up to USD 500 million towards an investment fund.
In June, they welcomed the setting up and launch of the India-US Defense Acceleration Ecosystem (INDUS-X), and discussed a network of universities, startups, industry, and think tanks. Now, specifics were detailed involving IIT Kanpur, Penn State University, US accelerator M/s Hacking 4 Allies (H4x), and IIT Hyderabad.
US Trade Representative Katherine Tai announced that the United States and India have agreed to resolve their last outstanding dispute at the World Trade Organization. India agreed to reduce tariffs on certain US products.
