US President Joe Biden and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi want to show that the relationship between the two countries is entering a new era with a state visit to the US. During the visit, various trade and cooperation agreements were concluded, including in the chip manufacturing and aerospace sectors.

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“The US is going to supply India with 31 state-of-the-art drones worth $3 billion,” said David Hummelberg, a US correspondent. Also, US General Electric will develop engines for fighter jets to be manufactured in India. “This could be a precursor to larger US security orders and Biden hopes to loosen India a bit from its traditionally good relationship with Russia,” Hummelburg says.

According to Hummelberg, Modi’s visit is very important to Biden. He needs Asia’s support on Ukraine’s policy and environmental issues, which requires India’s help. Additionally, the relationship between India and China is clouded, and India and the US can agree on that. For Modi, this is on the one hand about recognizing his country, but there are also historical aspects that play a role. During the second Kashmir war between India and Pakistan in 1965, the US sided with Pakistan. Modi sees this as a kind of revision of history.’

Ask more | Bernard Hammelburg – Opinion | Maharaja

Controversial

In any case, Modi has been given a grand reception at the White House, while also being controversial. ‘Remarkable’, thinks Hummelburg. ‘Except Indonesia, India has a large number of Muslims.’ Partly for this reason, Modi was denied a visa to the United States twenty years ago because he killed many Muslims as governor of a state. “He pretends to be some kind of liberal, but his policies are racist and vehemently anti-media.”

The US Congress has also criticized the visit. Some Democrats boycotted Modi’s speech. For Biden, the visit would have been difficult for that reason, but he approached the state trip mainly pragmatically, Hummelberg thinks.