CNN
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Welcoming Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the White House this week for a state visit, the highest form of American diplomacy, will require President Joe Biden to make some compromises.
Modi, hugely popular in India, has shown a drift towards authoritarianism that has worried the West. He has cracked down on dissent, targeted journalists and introduced policies that rights groups say discriminate against Muslims.
However, Modi and India, the world’s largest democracy, also represent a linchpin of Biden’s strategy in Asia. The country recently surpassed China to become the most populous country on Earth. In Biden’s view, no major global challenge, from climate change to technological advances, can be tackled without India’s buy-in. And at a time of rising tensions between the United States and China, there are few partners Biden is more eager to cultivate.
That, officials said, was the reason for inviting Modi for a state visit, only the third of Biden’s presidency so far.
So on Thursday, the prime minister will be welcomed to the White House in the highest trappings of American friendship: marching troops on the South Lawn, wide-ranging Oval Office talks and an evening state dinner, with a chef specialized in plants. – cuisine based on Modi’s vegetarian diet.
The two leaders will hold a joint press conference, something virtually every state visit over the past two decades has featured, but this was only agreed upon after long and delicate negotiations between the two sides. Indian officials initially rejected the White House’s insistence, two US officials familiar with the matter said. The question was unwelcome territory for Modi, who does not hold press conferences in India, where press freedom groups say he has overseen a crackdown on reporting.
Instead, Indian officials had pushed for joint statements after which the two leaders would not take any questions. It was only on the eve of Modi’s visit that Indian officials agreed to a compromise: the leaders would hold a “one and one,” calling on a reporter from each side instead of the traditional “two and two,” during which each leader would call two journalists from his press corps.
“We’re grateful that Prime Minister Modi is participating in a press event at the end of the visit. We think that’s important and we’re glad that he thinks that’s important as well,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby, when asked about the negotiations.
The Indian embassy did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Thursday’s state visit is aimed at strengthening what national security adviser Jake Sullivan has called “one of the defining relationships of the 21st century.” The meetings are expected to produce agreements on technology and defense cooperation and highlight Biden’s efforts to strengthen relations in a region struggling with an increasingly aggressive Beijing.
Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine, a conflict on which India has not taken a definitive side, is also likely to be discussed. New Delhi’s continued purchase of Russian oil has helped shore up Moscow amid withering global sanctions.
“Fundamentally, we believe that the long-term trajectory of the US-India relationship is based on the idea that two democracies with shared value systems should be able to work together,” Sullivan told a group of reporters ahead of the visit.
“This is a long vision. This is a vision rooted in our commitment to the relationship between the people of the United States of America and the people of India,” Sullivan continued. “Part of what will be uplifted and celebrated on this visit will be those people and deep bonds.”
Modi is not the first leader with authoritarian tendencies to be invited on a state visit to the White House. President Barack Obama hosted Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2015, shortly after taking power in Beijing.
And Biden is not the first president to embrace Modi. Alongside President Donald Trump, the Indian prime minister attended a huge “Howdy Modi” rally in Houston for members of the Indian diaspora. Modi returned the favor in Ahmedabad with a ‘Namaste Trump’ event held at the world’s largest cricket stadium.
Other world leaders have offered a similar welcome. French President Emmanuel Macron will host Modi as the guest of honor at this year’s Bastille Day parade.
But Biden has made the centerpiece of his foreign policy the battle between “democracy and autocracy,” a thematic backdrop perhaps nowhere more relevant than in India.
In March, the former leader of India’s main opposition political party, Rahul Gandhi, was suspended as a lawmaker a day after he was sentenced to two years in prison for defamation in a ruling that his supporters qualify as politically motivated.
Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government has come under scrutiny from rights groups and opposition lawmakers for its increasingly strident brand of Hindu nationalist politics and an ongoing crackdown on dissent.
Modi himself was denied a visa to the United States in 2005 because of his alleged role in anti-Muslim violence three years earlier in the state of Gujarat, where he was chief minister. More than 1,000 people were killed, mostly Muslims. An inquiry ordered by the Supreme Court in India cleared him of guilt.
A wide range of human rights groups, lawmakers and dissidents have made it clear they want Biden to address their concerns about Modi’s record when he’s in the White House. A group of more than 70 congressional Democrats wrote a letter to Biden this week urging him to raise human rights concerns when he meets with Modi.
“You have once again made respect for human rights, freedom of the press, religious freedom and pluralism the basic principles of American foreign policy. Moreover, these principles are necessary for the functioning of true democracy. To move forward those values with credibility on the world stage, we must apply them to friend and foe alike, just as we work to apply those same principles here in the United States,” the lawmakers wrote.
The letter was spearheaded by Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Washington, and Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Maryland. Jayapal said in a tweet about the letter: “We must ensure freedom of the press, religious tolerance, internet access and diversity of political thought.”
Modi to address Congress as part of his visit; three members of Congress, Representatives Rashida Tlaib, Ilhan Omar and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, have said they will boycott in protest of Modi’s treatment of Muslims.
Sullivan said the president intends to speak about human rights and democratic values in both public and private settings.
“Every time we see challenges in terms of freedom of the press, freedom of religion, infringements on the democratic space, we make our views known,” he said.
Thursday’s state visit will include announcements in the technology space as well as defense cooperation, including defense sales, production and technology collaboration, an administration official said.
The two leaders are expected to make “announcements on co-development and co-production of military systems, including some very advanced systems,” a senior State Department official said.
“It is important as India’s major defense partner that we are accelerating these efforts. It is also something we are doing, looking at the global defense market and Russia’s inability to provide defense hardware for global customers,” he said. say the official. “And we think India is a place where these systems could be produced in the future.”
Officials did not specify which systems will be announced.
The official noted that US defense trade with India had increased in the past 15 years and noted that India is diversifying and will not depend on any one nation, such as Russia, for weapons.
“You’re going to see significant cancellations of purchases of defense systems from Russia, in part because we know that Russia can’t provide that, that Russia is consuming its own defense production very quickly in this terrible war in Ukraine,” he said. the official “And everyone around the world who buys Russian equipment is worried about whether they can get replacement parts and then new systems, given the supply chain problems that Russia is experiencing.”
Discussions between the two men will also touch on improving educational exchanges and are expected to include further steps forward in visas and diplomatic presence in each country. They will also discuss issues on the agenda of the G20 summit, which India is preparing to host in September.
Biden’s efforts to deepen ties with India come as the two countries grapple with China’s growing influence. The President has met Modi on several occasions, including through meetings of the Quad leaders.
He said at a fundraiser this week that his revival of the four-way alliance had upset Xi.
“He called me and told me not to do it because it was putting him in trouble,” Biden said, referring to the Chinese president. “We’re just trying to make sure that the international rules of air and sea lanes remain open.”
Sullivan, however, said Thursday’s visit to the White House was “not about China,” although “the question of China’s role in military dominance, technological dominance and economic dominance will be on the agenda”.
This story has been updated with additional reporting.
