Economic ties at heart of India-US strategic partnership, says Secretary of State Blinken ahead of PM Modi's US visit

Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s state visit, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday said that the Indo-US strategic alliance is centered around economic linkages and that the two nations are working together to design future technologies and the rules regulating them.

Modi has been invited by President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden for an official State Visit, which will include a State Dinner on 22 June.

Addressing the annual India Ideas Summit of the US-India Business Council (USIBC) in Washington on Monday, Blinken said, “At the heart of our strategic partnership is our economic ties. And under the leadership of President Biden and Prime Minister Modi – and private sector leaders like you – it is growing stronger by the day.”

Blinken added that last year, trade between the two countries reached a record USD 191 billion, making the US the largest trading partner for India. American companies have invested at least USD 54 billion in India – from manufacturing to telecommunications.

#WATCH | Last year, as you all know, trade between our nations reached a record $191 billion dollars, making the US the largest trading partner for India. American companies have now invested at least $54 billion in India. In US, Indian companies have invested over $40 billion in… pic.twitter.com/4tXLJ3y4lG

— ANI (@ANI) June 13, 2023

In the US, he said, Indian companies have invested over USD 40 billion – in IT, pharmaceuticals and more – supporting 4,25,000 jobs from California to Georgia.

This February, Air India announced the historic purchase of more than 200 Boeing aircraft that will support an estimated one million-plus jobs across 44 states, the diplomat said during his address.

“We’re here almost literally, on the eve of what we believe will be a historic state visit by Prime Minister Modi – one that will further solidify what President Biden has called a ‘defining relationship’ of the 21st century,” Blinken said.

#WATCH | We are here almost literally, on the eve of what we believe will be a historic state visit by Prime Minister Modi, one that will further solidify what President Biden has called the defining relationship of the 21st century: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken pic.twitter.com/b2hDFQfScn

— ANI (@ANI) June 13, 2023

“We see this defining relationship in our unique connection as the world’s oldest and largest democracies, with a special obligation to demonstrate that our governments can deliver for and empower all our citizens.”

#WATCH | We see this (India-US) defining relationship as a unique connection between the world’s oldest and largest democracies, with a special obligation now to demonstrate that our governments can deliver for & empower all of our citizens: Antony Blinken, US Secretary of State pic.twitter.com/u2QGavpgDW

— ANI (@ANI) June 13, 2023

With the help of Biden’s USD 1.2 trillion Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Modi’s Rs 100 trillion infrastructure plan, Blinken claimed that both the US and India are investing significantly in their own nations to boost economic growth and attract foreign capital.

“India has joined three pillars of our new Indo-Pacific Economic Framework – committing to build more resilient supply chains, seize clean energy opportunities and combat corruption,” he said.

“Together, we are helping shape the innovations of the future and the norms governing them – from artificial intelligence to quantum computing,” Blinken said and added that in January, USIBC co-hosted a roundtable where the two governments inaugurated a new Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technologies.

“We’re elevating and expanding the strategic technology partnership between governments, businesses, and academic institutions in the US and India because we believe how technology is designed and used should be informed by democratic values and respect for human rights,” he said.

Central to that cooperation is diversifying and deepening the supply chains with trusted countries while also reducing strategic dependencies, he said.

Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo and her counterpart Union Commerce and Industries Minister Piyush Goyal recently established a partnership to make the semiconductor supply chain more resilient.

In Tamil Nadu, the US International Development Finance Corporation provided USD 500 million to help a leading US company build a solar manufacturing facility. This project will power roughly 30 million light bulbs in homes, schools, and businesses across India, create over a thousand jobs for Indians and Americans, and shift a key component of the US’s clean energy supply chain to a close partner, the diplomat noted.

According to Blinken, the trajectory of the Indo-US partnership is unmistakable and filled with promise.

“It is being written in places like North Carolina, where our growing engagement is benefiting both our countries,” he said.

The Tar Heel State has become a hub for Indian investment with tech companies such as HCL creating 2,400 jobs and training American high-schoolers for careers in the IT industry.

On the other hand, Charlotte-based Honeywell is employing 13,000 people from Kolkata to Mumbai, making safer airplanes and energy-efficient buildings. Duke University has established a presence in Bangalore, strengthening academic and research exchanges between the people of the two countries, he said.

According to the top diplomat, one North Carolina entrepreneur from Gujarat – commenting on this explosion of US-India commercial activity – observed, “‘This couldn’t have happened 15 years ago’.”

Blinken also expressed his deepest condolences on behalf of the United States of America to the victims of the terrible train crash in Odisha.

I again express our deepest condolences on behalf of the United States of America to the victims of the terrible train crash in Odisha. I had the opportunity to speak with my friend Dr. S Jaishankar shortly after the accident, and just to convey to him how much it had resonated… pic.twitter.com/nUXQMhYvex

— ANI (@ANI) June 12, 2023

“I had the opportunity to speak with my friend Dr. S Jaishankar shortly after the accident, and just to convey to him how much it had resonated here in the United States as we saw the images, and to let him know that we stand with the people of India as they recover from this human tragedy, said the  US Secretary of State.

With inputs from agencies

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