PM Modi’s crucial US visit in a time of global uncertainty

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 21-23 September visit to the US is significant on many counts. This is not least because it comes at a time of global turbulence and uncertainty; it comes at a point that allows India to cement existing partnerships, add layers to newer ones and offer fresh options and perspectives to the world.

As the external affairs ministry (MEA) has said, the visit combines many elements – the all-important bilateral aspect of India-US ties, the very important plurilateral element of the Quad and an equally important multilateral aspect at the United Nations.
The first leg of the visit at Wilmington, Delaware, will combine the bilateral and plurilateral elements as President Joe Biden will be hosting the Quad leaders at home. The invitation to Wilmington is a special gesture towards Modi and other Quad leaders, as Biden bids adieu to politics at the end of a long and remarkable career. There are other special gestures expected during the course of the Wilmington leg, as this will be the last in-person and official meeting between Modi and Biden. The special gestures will acknowledge and celebrate PM’s personal commitment to and investment in the India-US relationship which Biden has described as among the “most consequential in the world.”
At the bilateral level, there will of course be stocktaking of how far relations have progressed between the two countries especially as we come to a historical milestone – a quarter century of close ties. It would not be incorrect to say that a significant part of the consolidation of the relationship has happened in the past decade.
In Biden, Modi found a willing partner to propel ties to a new level that includes the possibilities of co-production and innovation. The new framework of India-US cooperation includes cutting-edge technologies under the umbrella of the India-US Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET). A concrete outcome of this kind of cooperation is the fact that an American semiconductor company was the first of at least six projects to date that has tapped into India’s PLI scheme.
A measure of how far ties have come is the fact that a US company will be co-producing fighter jet engines for India’s Light Combat Aircraft. Earlier this year, the US approved the sale of 31 MQ-9B armed drones to India, which is expected to significantly enhance our capability to meet current and future threats by enabling unmanned surveillance and reconnaissance patrols over land and sea.
It should be recalled that when the Ukraine conflict began, Biden expressed an understanding of India’s position. Significantly, Modi will also inform Biden about his meetings with presidents Vladimir Putin and Zelensky. This will allow both sides to align their views, on this critical issue, to the extent possible.
The upcoming Quad Summit – the sixth since 2021 – will serve to reinforce the partnership among four democracies, India, the US, Australia and Japan, with new commitments. The Cancer Moonshot initiative is one of those; through this, the Quad will implement innovative strategies to prevent, detect, treat and alleviate the impact of cancer on patients and families. The first project aims to reduce the burden of cervical cancer in the Indo-Pacific region.
Previous similarly notable initiatives of the Quad include the sharing of vaccines during the Covid-19 pandemic, providing space-based maritime domain awareness data to Pacific Island countries to deal with climate, disaster forecasting and illegal fishing, an Open RAN pilot in Palau, providing STEM fellowships and working on improving connectivity in the region.
India’s own commitment to the Indo-Pacific will be demonstrated by our joining the Clean Economy and Fair Economy pillars of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF). India is already part of the Supply Chain Resilience pillar of the IPEF.
This Quad Summit will lay the groundwork for cooperation until next year when India will host the 7th Quad Summit, which will be attended by a new US President and Japanese PM. The second leg of the PM’s engagements in the US will see him in New York. Here, one of the engagements will be his meeting with a section of the US’s 4.5 million strong and highly successful Indian American community.
Contacts with the Indian diaspora have been a hallmark of PM Modi’s trips abroad and this meeting with the Indian community is no exception. Modi’s engagement with the Indian community (across the globe and in the US) has been aimed at celebrating their achievements in their country of residence, ensuring their connection with the motherland and inviting them to contribute to the success of the “New India” story. These contacts are paying rich dividends for India – in terms of investments — as our economy looks to become the third largest globally by 2030. Another hallmark of PM’s travels to the US is his interaction with key business leaders.
During his US visit, Modi will be interacting with some of the big names in the US high-tech sector in areas such as AI, quantum computing, life sciences and biotechnology –with the aim of securing investments and cutting-edge technology transfers to set India firmly on the trajectory to become a developed nation by 2047. The US is the foremost among India’s partners of choice to secure the goal of India becoming a developed nation by 2047.
The third and last engagement of the PM in the US will be his participation in the UN’s Summit of the Future on September 23. The theme of the summit aptly is “Multilateral Solutions for a Better Tomorrow.” And it comes at a time of an East-West and North-South divide. It also comes at a time of crisis of faith in multilateral bodies like the UN – in their present avatar — seen as incapable of responding to global crises like the Covid-19 pandemic, the climate change challenge and conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza. Many countries slam the UN for its inefficiency but an equal number look to the UN for support in times of crisis.
As confidence in the UN and multilateralism in general falters, the global community is looking for leadership as countries are confronted by tepid economic growth and the prospect of widening conflicts. The UN’s “Summit of the Future” conference will focus on youth and digital solutions. In both areas, Modi is best placed among global leaders to share India’s experience and best practices with the world.
In this context, having navigated the Covid-19 challenge and emerging as a growth engine of the world. PM Modi’s initiative of listening and seeking feedback from the countries of the Global South reinforces India’s credentials of being a consensus builder, taking everyone along. India’s innovations in the digital space – provision of digital identity, the verification of that identity that enables vaccinations and financial transactions besides targeting subsidies to the needy more efficiently– have empowered millions at home. It has been hailed by bodies like the International Monetary Fund as an effective tool to deliver government support to the needy.
In addition, India’s experience with skills development and training of youth is a best practice that many countries will take note of and emulate.
Over the past decade, Modi has developed a close personal rapport with three different US presidents, and overseen a remarkable qualitative transformation in bilateral ties. The result has been remarkable with both countries benefitting from a comprehensive global strategic partnership that has fostered a distinct upswing in trade and investment exchanges, defence cooperation, research & development, technology transfers and support for a vibrant start-up industry in India. Modi’s forthcoming visit to the US will consolidate and add momentum to these accomplishments.
Harsh Vardhan Shringla is India’s former foreign secretary and ambassador to the US. The views expressed are personal