WHITE HOUSE-
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will pay a state visit to the United States from June 21 to 23. The White House stated that the United States supports India’s “rise as a great power”, and that India, as the world’s largest democratic country, will become a key strategic partner of the United States in the coming decades. The United States and India combine their strengths to act as a force for good in the Indo-Pacific region and around the world, and to ensure the interests of the United States and its allies and partners. It will also enhance the Strategic Technology Partnership between the two countries. , Strengthen cooperation in emerging technologies including space, clean energy, semiconductors, artificial intelligence AI, and more closely cooperate in the military.
The National Security Council of the White House gave a briefing on the evening of June 21. A senior Biden administration official revealed that during Modi’s visit, the two countries will announce multi-faceted scientific and technological cooperation projects. First of all, in terms of space, the United States and India will sign a space exploration cooperation agreement for the benefit of all mankind. NASA and the Indian Space Research Organization will cooperate to develop a strategic framework for manned spaceflight projects and conduct joint missions on the International Space Station in 2024. . In terms of semiconductors, US semiconductor companies will establish a semiconductor ecosystem in India to increase supply chain diversification. Micron Technology Corporation (Micron) will be supported by the “Indian National Semiconductor Mission” (Indian National Semiconductor Mission), investing more than 800 million U.S. dollars, and Indian authorities will also invest additional funds to build a total of 2.75 billion U.S. dollars in semiconductor assembly and testing in India facility. Applied Materials will also announce the establishment of a new center for commercialization and innovative semiconductors in India. The United States will assist in the training of 60,000 Indian engineers, and will announce its support for India to join the “Mineral Security Partnership” led by the United States to ensure that India can obtain the minerals needed to produce semiconductors.
In addition, the two countries will announce cooperation projects in quantum computing, artificial intelligence, climate technology, etc. The U.S. will assist India in developing the next-generation 6G network, and welcomes India to participate in the U.S. “Rip and Replace” (Rip and Replace) project to remove and replace all telecommunications networks in the U.S. made by “untrustworthy manufacturers” . The U.S. Federal Communications Commission has imposed restrictions on Chinese telecommunications giants Huawei and ZTE on the grounds of national security. According to the Economic Times (Economic Times) report in November 2022, as Huawei and ZTE were questioned by national security in India and affected operations, the Indian branches of these two companies have laid off 90% of their employees since 2020.
On June 20, John Kirby, the strategic communications coordinator of the National Security Council of the White House, said that Modi’s visit to the United States is not aimed at China. However, judging from the cooperation options that the two countries will announce, the United States will assist India in the development of manned space flight that China is proud of, while Micron, which was previously banned by the Chinese government, will now invest heavily in India. Bryant told VOA that in terms of technology, including semiconductors, what President Biden wants is that “the United States will become the starting point of the supply chain, not the end.” Biden will have a lively discussion with Modi on this aspect.
Biden and Modi will also announce three defense cooperation projects. In an unprecedented first, General Electric and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited signed a memorandum of understanding to co-produce GE414 engines for fighter jets in India. India will buy American weapons, including the MQ9 Reaper, to enhance its intelligence-gathering capabilities. The second is that India will allow U.S. Navy ships to be repaired in Indian shipyards, which will enhance U.S. cost and time assurance across multiple theaters. One is already in operation and three more are in the pipeline. The third is the announcement on June 21 that the establishment of “The India US Defense Acceleration Ecosystem” (The India US Defense Acceleration Ecosystem), composed of university incubation centers, enterprises, think tanks and private investment interests, will promote joint innovation in defense technology and accelerate India’s Integration of the Emerging Private Sector Defense Industry with the U.S. Defense Sector.
The United States will join the “Indo Pacific Oceans Initiative” (Indo Pacific Oceans Initiative) advocated by Modi in 2015. Through this regional mechanism, it will jointly promote safe, secure and stable sea areas, develop joint operations and share threat assessment plans, and cooperate with East Africa and the United States. countries along the Indian Ocean, and this year will also hold the regular annual joint military exercise “Yudh Abhyas; Training for War” (Yudh Abhyas; Training for War) between the United States and India.
To strengthen people-to-people exchanges and diplomatic ties between the two countries, the United States will also open additional consulates in Bengaluru and Ahmedabad, India, and India will also reopen its consulate in Seattle. In addition, India is reducing its dependence on Russian-made weapons. Modi’s good interaction with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy at the G7 summit in Hiroshima, Japan, showed India was also ready to play a diplomatic role in seeking peace for Ukraine, a senior official said.