At a Glance
Prime Minister of India, Mr. Narendra Modi, wrapped up his three-day state visit to the United States on Friday, June 23, 2023.
The visit was marked by announcements to expand economic engagement and resolve on both sides to elevate the bilateral relationship to a global strategic partnership. During the visit, Modi held a one-on-one conversation with US President Joe Biden ahead of the delegation-level talks. Both leaders affirmed that technology would play the defining role in deepening the partnership between India and the United States. The two leaders also highlighted the significance of the US-India Climate and Clean Energy Agenda 2030 Partnership and the Strategic Clean Energy Partnership (SCEP) to demonstrate their commitment to climate action and clean energy.
Here are some of the major highlights of the visit:
The Indo-US Joint Statement
A joint India-US statement was issued after the visit to announce deals on semiconductors, artificial intelligence (AI), telecoms, jet engine manufacturing, drones purchasing, and investments in energy and mobility sectors. The two leaders also affirmed to extend digital partnership and collaboration on sustainable development and global health. During his visit, Modi also met American CEOs from top companies including Google, Boeing, and Amazon and addressed a joint session of the US Congress.
Key takeaways from the joint statement:
- India-US to enhance tech commerce
- Deals were announced that will strengthen semiconductor supply chains: India to receive investments from Micron Technology and Applied Materials. Lam Research to train Indian workforce.
- Joint research: Both countries signed an implanting arrangement to further support joint research on quantum, artificial intelligence, and advanced wireless technologies.
- India-US to expand partnership for sustainable development and global health
- Energy collaboration and investment platform on green technology: A New and Emerging Renewable Energy Technologies Action Platform to accelerate cooperation in green hydrogen, offshore and onshore wind, and other emerging technologies launched.
- Decarbonizing transportation sector: USAID signed an MOU with the Ministry of Railways to work together on Indian Railways’ target to become a “net-zero” carbon emitter by 2030. The United States and India also announced plans to create a payment security mechanism that will facilitate the deployment of 10,000 made-in-India electric buses in India.
- Biofuels initiative: The Global Biofuels Alliance, established by India with the United States as a founding member, will facilitate cooperation in accelerating the use of biofuels.
- Accelerating the fight against cancer and diabetes: The US National Cancer Institute will foster collaboration between US and Indian scientists through two new grants to develop an AI-enabled digital pathology platform.
- India-US to boost defense partnership
- Jet engine co-production: GE and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited signed an MoU to jointly produce fighter jet engines in India.
- Predator drone procurement: India to procure armed drones from General Atomics.
- Resilient supply chain: The United States and India finalized a Defense Industrial Cooperation Roadmap that provides policy direction to defense industries and enables co-production of advanced defense systems.
Meeting with top American CEOs and business leaders
Prime Minister Modi interacted with CEOs and business of top American companies during a roundtable at the White House. The meeting was marked by pledges of deeper US-India cooperation on areas including space, artificial intelligence, and quantum computing. After the meeting, Google CEO Sundar Pichai announced that the tech giant is investing US$10 billion in India’s digitization fund and announced the opening of its global fintech operation center in GIFT City, Gujarat. Amazon CEO Andy Jassy took to Twitter to announce that the e-commerce giant will invest a total of $26 billion in India by 2030. In a statement, tech giant Microsoft said that its CEO, Satya Nadella, held discussion with PM Modi around the power of technology, particularly artificial intelligence, to help improve the lives of Indians.
Other CEOs present during the roundtable included Sam Altman (OpenAI), Tim Cook (Apple), and Lisa Su (AMD). Earlier, Tesla CEO Elon Musk had also met the Indian Prime Minister soon after he landed in the US.
PM Modi’s address to joint session of the Congress
Prime Minister Modi addressed a joint session of the US Congress. During his speech, PM Modi mentioned the growing Indo-US trade and economic relations and spoke on the rapid steps both countries are taking to boost strategic partnership. Here are some of the quotes from PM Modi’s speech:
Indo-US partnership
“Today, India and the US are working together in space and in the seas, in science and in semiconductors, in startups and sustainability, in tech and in trade, in farming and finance, in art and artificial intelligence.”
Climate actions
“We became the only G20 country to meet its Paris commitment. We made renewables account for over 40% of our energy sources, nine years ahead of the target of 2030. But we did not stop there. At the Glasgow Summit, I proposed Mission LiFE—Lifestyle for Environment. This is a way to make sustainability a true people’s movement.”
Women empowerment
“Today, in modern India, women are leading us to a better future. India’s vision is not just of development which benefits women, it’s of women-led development where women lead the journey of progress.”
