PM Narendra Modi will visit the US on February 12-13 at the invitation of President Donald Trump. This will be the first meeting between the two leaders after Trump assumed office for his second term. Modi will be the fourth global leader to visit the US since Trump’s inauguration.On the agendaTo build on the strong-India-US Global Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and set an ambitious agenda for a mutually beneficial and trusted relationship across all sectors. Focus likely on enhancing cooperation in trade, nuclear energy, defence, critical and emerging technologies, counter-terrorism and Indo-Pacific.Also on the agenda are differences over trade or what Trump calls need for fair trade, illegal migration and visa delays. India will seek Trump’s cooperation in carrying forward recent landmark initiatives like iCET and IMEEC, both launched under the Biden administration. Even as Trump threatens to slap higher tariffs on India and others, the Modi govt will hope to restart discussions for a mini, if not comprehensive, trade deal that can restore India’s benefits under the GSP that were revoked in 2019, while allowing the US greater market access. Meeting with business leaders, talks with Elon Musk not ruled out.Previous interactionsModi visited US in June 2017 and hosted Trump for a state visit in February 2020The two leaders have also spoken on the phone twice since November 2024 (November 6, 2024, and January 27, 2025)In early engagement with the new administration, foreign minister S Jaishankar represented the PM at Trump’s inauguration. During the visit, Jaishankar met secretary of state Marco Rubio and participated in the Quad foreign ministers’ meeting in JanAreas of engagement1) Bilateral tiesIndia and the US launched a ‘strategic partnership’ in 2005India-US ties were elevated to Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership during Trump’s visit to India in February 2020During the first Trump administration, the Indo-Pacific region gained significant attention as a key strategic area in US foreign policyIn concert with Japan; Australia, the US and India reinvigorated the Quadrilateral Dialogue. Trump administration took the lead in promoting Quad from a senior-official level dialogue to a ministerial-level dialogue. Under the Biden administration, Quad was elevated to a leaders summit2) Trade and investmentThe US is one of the largest trading partners of India with overall bilateral trade in goods and services of $190 billion in 2023. India has a trade surplus of over $36 billionDuring FY 2023-24, US was the third largest source of FDI into India with inflows of almost $5 billion3) Energy partnershipThe US is India’s sixth largest energy trade partner and India’s hydrocarbon trade with the US was $13.6 billion in FY 2023-244) Education and culturalCooperation India, US signed the first ever ‘Cultural Property Agreement’ in 2024 to prevent and curb the illicit trafficking of antiquities. US has returned 578 antiquities to India since 2016US is one of the most favoured destinations for Indian students for higher education5) Defence cooperationIndia-US defence cooperation is based on ‘New Framework for India-US Defence Cooperation’ which was renewed for 10 years in 2015In 2016, the defence relationship was designated as a Major Defence PartnershipThe apex dialogue mechanism is the 2+2 ministerial dialogue. It provides guidance on political, military and strategic issuesIndia is one of the largest military exercise partners for the USIndia has contracted for more than $20 billion US-origin defence articles since 2008, including C-130J, C-17 and Apache6) S&T and space cooperationThe Science and Technology Cooperation Agreement was renewed in September 2019 for 10 yearsIsro and Nasa are developing a microwave remote sensing satellite for earth observation : Nasa-Isro Synthetic Aperture RadarIn January 2024, Nasa and Isro signed a Joint Statement of Intent to mount a joint effort to the Interna tional Space StationIsro has nominated two Indian astronauts on the Axiom-4 mission to the In ternational Space Station, who are currently being trained in the USIndia and US have strong cooperation in critical and emerging technologies. Initiative for Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET) was launched by the NSAs in Washington in Jan 2023
India-US relationship status set for update with Modi visit | India News
