It is being expected that India and the United States may enter many defense agreements.
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Relations between the countries are not always easy – India insists on staying out of formal alliances and forging its own course – but both leaders can boast that ties have improved.
Modi’s US visa was revoked in 2005 over his alleged role as Chief Minister of the state of Gujarat during deadly riots there three years earlier (he was subsequently exonerated by Indian courts), but reinstated soon after he became Prime Minister.
In another significant step forward in India’s push for accessing high-end technology, all members of the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) have agreed to India being admitted into the exclusive club.
In addition, Indian diplomats are hoping for a deal in which the United States would provide financing or other incentives to help support the expansion of affordable wind- and solar-powered electricity in India.
His last meeting with President Obama before he demits office will be one of consolidation.
In addition, India and the USA “resolved” to work to adopt an HFC amendment in 2016 with increased financial support from donor countries to the Multilateral Fund to help developing countries with implementation, and an ambitious phasedown schedule, under the Montreal Protocol pursuant to the Dubai Pathway, the White House said.
Prime Minister Modi will also address the US Congress on Wednesday at 8.30 PM IST. After this agreement, these fighter planes would be manufactured in India. China is batting for Pakistan to be the part of this group. India finally signed the historic deal but is yet to officially enact it, something that will likely top Obama’s agenda. In the recently concluded World Climate Summit, India, along with a number of third wold countries had opposed sanctions on the use of coal as source of evenry, despite it releases enormous amount of carbon in the atmosphere.
Both leaders will be keen on unlocking the potential for bilateral trade as well, with India – now the world’s fastest-growing economy – presenting a 1.3-billion strong market that American corporate giants like Apple, Facebook and Wal-Mart are keen to cash in on.
Still, Modi appears willing to set aside decades of standoffishness – with postcolonial roots – to cement increasingly close ties, perhaps because the next American leader may not share President Barack Obama’s enthusiasm for India. And India is aiming to speed up its economic growth through investments from American firms.
The two countries welcomed the start of work to build six Westinghouse AP 1000 reactors in India, the culmination of 10 years of working to resolve civil nuclear issues.
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“If Clinton were to be the next President, I think we could expect a lot more of the same and I think the Indians would be perfectly happy with that”, Vaishnav says. Indian Foreign Secretary Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said there were regulatory and legal issues to be addressed.
