Landmark deals etch vision for future

Partners of first resort, critical strategic partnership over the next decades, no partner more consequential than India now and into the future, trailblazing initiatives, inexorable trajectory, escape velocity, next generation defence partnership, key security providers in the Indo-Pacific, a delighted United States (US) and a surprised and thrilled India, and a spirit of trust and confidence. These were some of the phrases used by a senior administration official as Washington gave a preview of the joint statement during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s state visit to the US, unveiling what would be the most ambitious and broad based agenda of collaboration between the two countries in their diplomatic history with a potentially transformative impact for years.

- Prashant Jha

While the text of the joint statement was not out at the time of going to press, in their joint press appearance at the end of their bilateral talks, President Joe Biden and PM Modi confirmed and expanded on some of the deliverables in the offing. Biden said the two countries were demonstrating they were collaborating on nearly all human endeavours while Modi called it a special day in the history of ties.

Speaking to reporters on background late on Wednesday evening (Thursday morning IST), senior administration officials also laid out specific deliverables across multiple domains. HT was the first to report on several of these expected outcomes in the past two weeks, both in its stories and interviews with key officials. The joint statement was expected later on Thursday.

Defence, space and tech

On defence, the GE jet engine deal is through. Modi said that the old days of the “buyer-seller” relationship was over, and the GE jet engine deal through technology transfer and co-production was a “landmark agreement” that would add a new chapter to defence ties.