INDIA: US Gambles On India As Key Bilateral Partner

US President Joe Biden will welcome Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the White House this evening ahead of his formal state visit tomorrow. Modi will become the first Indian head of state to twice address a joint session of Congress tomorrow.

• The honours bestowed upon Modi reflect the growing importance of India as a strategic partner as the US seeks dependable allies to act as a counterweight to China in the Indo-Pacific, despite concerns over Modi's illiberal tendencies, and recent reluctance to support US measures against Russia.
• The leaders will announce a raft of arms deals and defence agreements including a technology-transfer agreement which will allow General Electric to jointly manufacture jet engines for India’s next generation aircraft.
• The Pentagon today release a factsheetoutlining the, "India-U.S. Defense Acceleration Ecosystem," which the DoD says will, "expand the strategic technology partnership and defense industrial cooperation between our governments, businesses, and academic institutions."
• Politico notes: "...the global contest between democracies and autocracies has defined Biden’s foreign policy and the president has made the decision to cozy up to the region’s democracy, even if it is a deeply flawed one."