Richard M. Rossow
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was in Washington, D.C., this week and met President Donald Trump on February 13. The two leaders reaffirmed the importance of this blossoming strategic relationship and hinted at important new ways they plan to operationalize the partnership. Most significantly, the two leaders stated their shared intention to negotiate a bilateral trade initiative (BTI) with a plan to conclude a first phase later this year. In the area of defense cooperation, there was a reaffirmation of equipment sales, exercises, and promises of relaxing U.S. export controls—including for fifth-generation fighter planes and undersea systems. The leaders also hinted that we may see significant new steps in military interoperability.
With losses by many incumbents democratically elected leaders in recent years, Prime Minister Modi is a relatively rare “known figure” to President Donald Trump. This familiarity and senior-level connectivity in recent months were on display as the visit yielded a far more aspirational agenda than would have otherwise been possible just weeks into a new administration.
The drivers for this partnership are well-known. During President Trump’s current term, India should leap over both Japan and Germany to become the world’s third-largest economy. The two nations have shared concerns about the dangerous elements of China’s rise. India is the largest source of both foreign students and skilled immigrants coming to the United States. The United States is India’s most significant economic partner—India has double the level of goods exports to the United States as it exports to any other nation. Over 54 percent of India’s exports of software and services come to the United States.
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