Biden and Modi's deals include drones, jet engines, and chips:
Leaders will announce pacts during the state
visit to the White House
Micron plans a $2.75 billion semiconductor fab in
India
President Joe Biden and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will announce a series of defense and trade deals designed to improve military and economic ties between their nations during Thursday's state visit to the White House, senior US officials said.
General Electric Co. unveiled plans to jointly manufacture F414 engines
with Indian state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. for the Tejas light attack
aircraft, as part of an effort to improve defense and technology exchanges as
China grows more assertive in the Indo-Pacific.
Biden and Modi will discuss a deal for General Atomics' MQ-9B SeaGuardian drones and a new defense pact that will allow US Navy ships to carry out major repairs at Indian shipyards.
And the two leaders plan to launch a series of semiconductor deals aimed at using Indian subsidies to enable the South Asian country to manufacture cutting-edge technology.
Micron Technology Inc. will announce an investment of more than $800
million in a $2.75 billion semiconductor assembly and test facility in India,
while Applied Materials Inc. will announce a new commercialization center and
semiconductor innovation. Chipmaker Lam Research will also announce a training
program in India for up to 60,000 engineers.
The deals are unfolding as India seeks to increase its engagement on the world stage both diplomatically and economically, the officials, who detailed the plans ahead of their official announcement on condition of anonymity, said in a call. with journalists.
The announcements - which also include closer cooperation between the countries space programs as well as US efforts to facilitate visas for Indian workers - come on a day of elaborate pageantry for Modi, who will attend his first-ever official state visit to the White House.
The visit includes meetings with Biden and senior US officials, a brief
press conference - a rarity for the Indian leader - and an afternoon address to
the US Congress. Upon his arrival on Wednesday evening, the Bidens presented
Modi with a vintage American camera, a book of American wildlife photography
and a signed first edition of Robert Frost's Collected Poems.
The US State Department also plans to launch a pilot program that would allow certain visas to be renewed domestically, meaning workers would not have to return to their home countries to extend their US residency. United. Some Indians in the United States on H-1B and L-1 visas — frequently used by skilled workers and business executives — would be eligible for the program.
US aides said Indian officials were pleased with their efforts to cut red tape that had hampered past deals, and said they were determined to ensure that the deals announced on Thursday materialize.
However, moments of tension are also expected in the meetings between the two leaders. India has been reluctant to impose sanctions on Russia since the invasion of Ukraine and has been aggressively buying Russian oil. The South Asian nation received 1.96 million barrels a day from Russia last month, 15% more than the previous record in April, according to data from Vortexa Ltd.
White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters earlier this week that the United States hoped India would continue to adhere to the price cap on Russian oil that Washington helped set. negotiate.
Biden is also expected to raise human rights issues with Modi, and the addition of Thursday's press conference - which was not included in an initial White House visit schedule - has been seen as a minor victory by some in the White House.
US officials declined to say whether Biden would advocate for the release
of specific journalists who have been jailed as part of a crackdown by Modi's
government against journalists and opposition leaders. Instead, an official
said the US president would likely approach the discussion with humility,
acknowledging the challenges he saw the United States also faces on human
rights and democracy.
