Modi’s welcome ceremony at Washington to be big event

Washington: The first state visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the US is likely to be a defining moment for the Indo-US relationship and both sides are working on a robust outcome document that may take up matters that would decide the contour of the bilateral ties for decades to come, according to people familiar with the planning of the high-profile trip.

Modi has been invited by President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden for an official state visit that would include a State Dinner on June 22. The preparation for the historic visit is expected to gain momentum this week in both capitals. US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan is headed to New Delhi for the second round of the iCET Dialogue with his Indian counterpart Ajit Doval.

President Biden and Prime Minister Modi announced the US-India initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET) in May 2022 to elevate and expand our strategic technology partnership and defence industrial cooperation between the governments, businesses, and academic institutions of our two countries.

The two sides are finalising the joint statement, which is being described as a robust outcome document and as something that would shape the nature and contour of the Indo-US relationship for decades to come, according to multiple people familiar with the planning of the visit. While the final decisions on the deliverable would be taken by the two leaders on June 22, the joint statement that is being drafted right now is believed to take up issues that would propel the India-US partnership, with key focus areas being technology, space, and defence, they said.

But all the sectors are likely to have a personal touch of the prime minister, who has insisted that these be linked to the development and welfare of the people. Both Modi and Biden believe that the India-US relationship is important not only for the two countries but also for the rest of the world. The outcome document is expected to be reflective of the visions of the two leaders, they said.

A concrete set of deliverables are likely to appear in the outcome documents that are being prepared. It, among other things, would also highlight the prime minister’s approach to technology for development. While the outcome document would include things that would accelerate the cooperation between industries and, overall, the big picture likely to emerge from the historic visit is that it would concretise the trust and confidence level between the two countries like never seen before, they said.

Following the state visit, the partnership is headed to evolve from India being seen as a big market for American companies to the relationship being seen as that of two reliable partners, especially in the field of the supply chain. The key to it is India’s ability to produce things at scale and affordable prices with American technology. The visit would result in taking up the trust and confidence between the two countries to an altogether new level. According to the White House Historical Association, this would be the 11th state dinner that a US President is hosting for an Indian leader, but in the last 75 years, only two other Indian leaders have been given the honour of an official state visit.