Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the White House on Friday for bilateral talks with President Biden, signing a landmark package of agreements that experts called the most consequential India-US accords in two decades. The package includes a trade framework agreement targeting $500 billion in bilateral trade by 2030, a Defence Industrial Partnership that will allow joint production of fighter jet engines, submarines, and infantry fighting vehicles, and a Critical Mineral and Semiconductor Supply Chain MOU that will see India join the US-led chip supply chain diversification initiative.
Modi said the India-US relationship has entered a new era defined by shared manufacturing, shared technology, and shared values. Biden called Modi one of the most consequential global leaders of our time and said the partnership between the world two largest democracies is the most important bilateral relationship on earth. The visit included the signing of a space cooperation agreement allowing Indian astronauts to train at NASA and a reciprocal educational exchange programme for 10,000 students annually. The agreements were widely praised by business chambers on both sides as a transformative step in the economic relationship.