Joe Biden hosts PM Narendra Modi at home: ‘Ties closer, more dynamic than ever’

With Biden’s presidential term set to conclude, the meeting at his home in Delaware, on the sidelines of the Quad summit, was a farewell of sorts as well. According to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), Modi conveyed his appreciation for the “unparalleled contributions” made by Biden in “giving impetus to the India-US partnership”. He also recalled his visit to the US in June 2023 and Biden’s visit to India in September 2023 for the G-20 Leaders’ Summit, which “imparted greater dynamism and depth” to the partnership.

“I thank President Biden for hosting me at his residence in Greenville, Delaware. Our talks were extremely fruitful. We had the opportunity to discuss regional and global issues during the meeting,” Modi posted on X.

The US President, meanwhile, “commended Modi for his historic visits to Poland and Ukraine, the first by an Indian Prime Minister in decades, and for his message of peace and ongoing humanitarian support for Ukraine, including its energy sector, and on the importance of international law”. They had spoken over the phone last month after Modi’s visit to Kyiv.

According to Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, India is “involved in a set of ongoing conversations with interlocutors on all sides” regarding a peace proposal for Ukraine. He said that “people see value in India’s engagement in these conversations… (but) there is still quite a bit of work that remains to be done”.

On regional issues, the Foreign Secretary confirmed that “there was an exchange of views with regard to the situation” in Bangladesh. Modi and Biden had spoken about the situation of minorities, including Hindus, in Bangladesh over the phone last month.

On tensions in West Asia, Misri said the “leaders reaffirmed their support for the freedom of navigation and the protection of commerce, including critical maritime routes in the Middle East where India will assume co-lead in 2025 of the Combined Task Force 150 to work with Combined Maritime Forces to secure sea lanes in the Arabian Sea.”

While the bilateral meeting did highlight all the convergences, the divergence lingered in the background with allegations of an assassination plot against pro-Khalistan separatist figure, Gurupatwant Singh Pannun, casting a shadow. The fact that a group of Sikh activists and separatists were at the White House for the first time, on the eve of the Prime Minister’s visit, was a signal to Delhi.

The most notable impact was the absence of NSA Ajit Doval from the official delegation. This time, the Prime Minister was accompanied by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri and Ambassador of India to US Vinay Mohan Kwatra. Sources said the Jammu & Kashmir elections and domestic commitments had kept NSA Doval back in India.

Incidentally, Doval was among those who was issued summons last week by a US court after Pannun filed a civil lawsuit seeking damages for the alleged plot to assassinate him in the US last year. India had described the charges as “completely unwarranted and unsubstantiated imputations”. Local media reported that pro-Khalistan protestors could be seen along the route of the Prime Minister’s motorcade.

Meanwhile, the key takeaways from the Modi-Biden meeting, according to a fact sheet, included:

* An arrangement to establish a new semiconductor fabrication plant focused on advanced sensing, communication, and power electronics for national security, next generation telecommunications, and green energy applications. The fab, which will be established with the objective of manufacturing infrared, gallium nitride and silicon carbide semiconductors, will be enabled by support from the India Semiconductor Mission as well as a strategic technology partnership between Bharat Semi, 3rdiTech, and the US Space Force.

* Creation of the GF Kolkata Power Center that will enhance mutually beneficial linkages in research and development in chip manufacturing and enable game-changing advances for zero and low emission as well as connected vehicles, internet of things devices, AI, and data centers.

* Progress in “first joint effort by NASA and ISRO to conduct scientific research onboard the International Space Station in 2025”.

* Progress in India procuring 31 General Atomics MQ-9B (16 Sky Guardian and 15 Sea Guardian) remotely piloted aircraft and their equipment, which will enhance the intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities of armed forces.

* Signing of Critical Minerals Memorandum of Understanding at the forthcoming US-India Commercial Dialogue, and hastening collaboration to secure resilient critical minerals supply chains.

* Conclusion of Memorandum of Agreement regarding the deployment of liaison officers, and commencement of deployment of the first liaison officer from India in US Special Operations Command (SOCOM).

* Formal launch of the new US-India Global Digital Development Partnership to bring together private sector companies, technology and resources for emerging digital technologies in Asia and Africa.

* Roadmap to build safe and secure global clean energy supply chains — expand manufacturing capacity of next generation solar cells, wind turbines, power transmission lines, battery packs for 2-and 3-wheel electric vehicles (EVs) and high-efficiency air conditioners.

The two sides also “welcomed India’s signature and ratification of various agreements under the overarching Agreement on the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF)”. They signed the new US-India Drug Policy Framework for the 21st Century, which will deepen collaboration to disrupt the illicit production and international trafficking of synthetic drugs and precursor chemicals, the fact sheet said.

Capping years of work by experts, the two sides also acknowledged the July 2024 signing of a bilateral Cultural Property Agreement that will facilitate implementation of the 1970 Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export, and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property. In this context, the leaders welcomed the repatriation of 297 Indian antiquities from the US in 2024.