On June 21st, 2023, the White House experienced a highly anticipated and exciting visit from Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The visit included high-profile events that portrayed U.S.-India ties as critical in the Indo-Pacific region. As the White House stated, it was “a partnership of democracies looking into the 21st century with hope, ambition, and confidence.”

For an influential leader like Narendra Modi, visiting the White House may seem like a typical routine. However, for a man who was denied entry into the U.S. for nearly a decade, reestablishing the U.S.-India partnership was regarded with celebration for much of the American and Indian population. The visit not only came out as a solidification of ties between two powerful countries, but also a chance to discuss important topics pertaining to technology, defense, clean energy, and much more. 

A major topic discussed between President Biden and PM Modi was charting a technology partnership for the future. In an attempt to advance beyond China’s growing technological capabilities, focusing on technological partnerships is high on both the US’s and India’s agendas. To create an open and fair partnership, the leaders launched the Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET). With this established, the Biden Administration agreed to help India increase its production of electric vehicles and to aid in the installation of 500 gigawatts of clean energy such as wind, solar, and other renewable resources (Council on Foreign Relations). In addition, a US semiconductor manufacturing company, Micron Technology, Inc., has announced that up to $825 million will be invested to place a new chip assembly and test facility in Gujarat, India. According to the White House, this new semiconductor plant in India will establish 20,000 new direct and community job opportunities in the next five years alone.

Another important issue discussed and high on the political agenda of the US and India was new defense and strategic partnerships. President Biden and PM Modi honored a memorandum of understanding, an agreement between two or more parties, between General Electric and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited for the manufacturing of fighter jet engines for the Indian Air Force. This deal is a large step for India as they can now produce both fighter jets and the engines to power them. In addition to these improvements, the two countries established a Joint Indo-US Quantum Coordination Mechanism to join research between public and private sectors and the INDUS-X Partnership which will further expand the defense and strategic partnership. 

As many topics were discussed and new avenues for both countries were greatly opened, one thing remained imminent: a new beginning for a partnership between two powerful countries was paved. 

Sources retrieved from The White House and The Council on Foreign Relations.