Foreign policy experts are still analyzing Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s meeting with China’s President Xi Jinping.
However, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is heading to Washington, D.C., a bookend of sorts to Blinken’s visit to China that started this week.
This will be Modiʻs seventh visit to the U.S. since taking office nine years ago.
For the first time, he’ll be honored with a state dinner at the White House on Thursday, soon after he makes his second address to a joint session of Congress.
It is a stark contrast to China, where many discussions center on security concerns.
With India, one focus is on security cooperation — and the “Quad” — a four-way grouping that links the U.S., India, Japan and Australia.
This week, while television cameras will be rolling at the White House and on Capitol Hill, some of the most significant developments will involve the Pentagon.
The headlines of Indian newspapers and websites are anticipating developments with private sector defense contractors.
Historically, India has gotten most of its armaments and defense equipment from Russia, and from the Soviet Union before that.
The pattern has begun to shift in recent years and the Biden Administration wants to speed up that transition.
One potential deal on the table is an agreement between General Electric and Hindustan Aeronautics to transfer technology related to aircraft engines, which could lead to the production of military aircraft engines in India.
