From yoga to bilaterals: Modi's packed schedule during US visit

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s packed State visit to the US next week is expected to lead to several understandings and remove barriers in the way of taking cooperation in crucial areas such as defence and critical technologies to the next level, people familiar with the matter said.

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Aside from the pomp and symbolism associated with a State visit, the two sides are firming up engagements between Modi and US President Joe Biden to pave the way for closer alignment between the economic and technology ecosystems of the two countries and eliminating hurdles to building more resilient supply chains, the people said.

The external affairs ministry on Friday announced that Modi will visit the US during June 20-24, when he will be hosted by Biden at the White House and address a joint session of the Congress. This is only the third State visit hosted by Biden, following those for French President Emmanuel Macron and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol.

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The ministry said Modi will travel from the US to Egypt during June 24-25 to meet President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and build on trade and strategic relations between the two sides. This will be Modi’s first visit to Egypt.

Modi’s State visit to the US, at the invitation of Biden and First Lady Jill Biden, will commence in New York, where the Prime Minister will lead celebrations marking the International Day of Yoga at the UN headquarters on June 21.

Thereafter, Modi will travel to Washington, where he will be given a ceremonial welcome at the White House on June 22. Unlike past such welcomes, more than a thousand people are expected to be at the event, including members of the diaspora.

Modi will then hold a high-level dialogue with the US President. Biden and the First Lady will host a State dinner in honour of Modi the same evening. Several hundred guests, a mix of members of Congress, diplomats and celebrities, are expected to be at the dinner, the people said.

At the invitation of Congressional leaders, including speaker Kevin McCarthy of the House of Representatives and Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer, Modi will address a joint sitting of the Congress on June 22. Addresses to joint sessions of Congress are reserved for the closest allies of the US or major world figures. Modi last made such an address in 2016.

On June 23, Modi will be jointly hosted at a luncheon by vice-president Kamala Harris and secretary of state Antony Bilnken. The people said the two sides are exploring the possibility of more interactions between Modi and Biden, besides the ones that have already been slotted, in order to allow the two leaders to spend the maximum amount of time together.

In addition to the official engagements, Modi is scheduled to have several curated interactions with CEOs, professionals and other stakeholders. He will also meet members of the Indian diaspora, the external affairs ministry said.

HT reported most of the engagements announced in the official schedule over the past two weeks.

Modi’s visit to the US is being seen as the high point in India’s calendar for bilateral engagements ahead of the G20 Summit in September, for which Biden is expected to travel to New Delhi. Several important deals, including one for India’s planned acquisition of 31 weaponised drones and another on closer collaboration on semiconductors, are expected to be unveiled during the visit to the US.

The people said there is genuine interest on both sides to use the visit to take relations to the next level. In this context, they pointed to back-to-back visits to India by secretary of state Blinken, commerce secretary Gina Raimondo, defence secretary Lloyd Austin and National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan.

The people also pointed to forward movement under new frameworks such as the initiative for Critical and Emerging Technologies (iCET) and the Strategic Trade Dialogue, which paved the way for interlinking supply chains and facilitating cooperation in critical technologies such as AI and quantum computing, trade and investment.

“We have been talking to US stakeholders, both private players and regulators, to create greater linkages in manufacturing, services and technology. We are also evolving standards for critical technologies,” one of the people said.

While the people declined to confirm specific defence deals or other agreements, they pointed to how India-US ties in this realm had moved from a buyer-seller relationship to building a long-term technology and security partnership, including more complex military exercises and co-development of platforms.

The people acknowledged that the Ukraine war and its economic impact on developing countries and the role of China in the Indo-Pacific are likely to figure during discussions on regional and global issues, but made it clear that the frame of reference for the Prime Minister’s visit is purely bilateral.

Modi will subsequently travel to Cairo to pay a State visit to Egypt at the invitation of President Sisi. The invitation was extended to Modi in January when Sisi attended the Republic Day celebrations as chief guest.

Apart from holding talks with Sisi, Modi is likely to interact with senior dignitaries from the Egyptian government, prominent personalities and the Indian community.

Relations between India and Egypt are based on ancient trade and economic linkages and cultural and people-to-people ties, the external affairs ministry said. During Sisi’s state visit in January, the two countries agreed to elevate their relationship to a strategic partnership.