Indian PM Modi wraps up Washington trip with appeal to tech CEOs

WASHINGTON – Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met US and Indian technology chief executives in Washington on Friday, the final day of

a state visit marked by pledges of deeper US-India cooperation

on areas including space, artificial intelligence and quantum computing.

President Joe Biden rolled out the red carpet for Mr Modi on Thursday, declaring after about 2½ hours of talks that their countries’ economic relationship was “booming”.

Trade has more than doubled over the past decade.

Mr Biden and Mr Modi gathered with CEOs including Apple’s Tim Cook, Google’s Sundar Pichai and Microsoft’s Satya Nadella.

Also present were OpenAI’s Sam Altman, Nasa astronaut Sunita Williams, and Indian tech leaders including Mahindra Group chairman Anand Mahindra and Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani, the White House said.

“Our partnership between India and the United States will go a long way, in my view, to define what the 21st century looks like,” Mr Biden told the group, adding that technological cooperation would be a big part of that partnership.

Observing that there were a variety of tech companies represented at the meeting, from start-ups to well-established firms, Mr Modi said: “Both of them are working together to create a new world.”

Mr Modi, who has appealed to global companies to “Make in India”, also addressed business leaders at the Kennedy Centre for Performing Arts.

The CEOs of top American companies, including FedEx, MasterCard and Adobe, were expected to be among the 1,200 participants.

The backdrop to Mr Modi’s visit is the Biden administration’s attempts to draw India, the world’s most populous country at 1.4 billion and its fifth-largest economy, closer amid its growing geopolitical rivalry with Beijing.

Mr Modi did not address China directly during the visit, and Mr Biden mentioned China only in response to a reporter’s question, but a joint statement included a pointed reference to the East and South China Seas, where China has territorial disputes with its neighbours.

Ms Farwa Aamer, director for South Asia at the Asia Society Policy Institute, in an analysis note described that as “a clear signal of unity and determination to preserve stability and peace in the region”.

Agreements signed

Washington wants Delhi to be a strategic counterweight to China,

and deals announced this week included several investments from US-firms aimed at spurring semiconductor manufacturing in India and lowering its dependence on China for electronics.

The White House also announced plans to cooperate on quantum computing, scientific research and technological innovation, alongside plans to manufacture weapons in India.

Some political analysts question India’s willingness to stand up to Beijing over Taiwan and other issues, however.

Washington has also been

frustrated by India’s close ties with Russia while Moscow wages a war in Ukraine.

Addressing the US Congress on Thursday, Mr Modi repeated his statement that “this is not an era of war” and called for “dialogue and diplomacy” to end the conflict.

Mr Modi continued talks with top US officials during a lunch at the State Department with Vice-President Kamala Harris, the first Asian American to hold the No. 2 position in the White House, and Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

In a toast, Ms Harris spoke of her Indian-born late mother Shyamala Gopalan who came to the US at age 19 and became a leading breast cancer researcher.

“I think about it in the context of the millions of Indian students who have come to the United States since, to collaborate with American researchers to solve the challenges of our time and to reach new frontiers,” Ms Harris said.

Mr Modi praised Ms Gopalan for keeping India “close to her heart” despite the distance to her new home, and called Ms Harris “really inspiring”.

On Friday evening, Mr Modi addressed members of the Indian diaspora, many of whom turned out at events during the visit to enthusiastically fete him, at times chanting “Modi! Modi! Modi!” despite protests from others.

Activists have called for the Biden administration to publicly call out what they describe as a deteriorating human rights situation in India under Mr Modi, citing allegations of abuse of Indian dissidents and minorities, especially Muslims.

Mr Biden said he had a “straightforward” discussion with Mr Modi about issues including human rights, but US officials emphasise that it is vital for Washington’s national security and economic prosperity to engage with a rising India.

Asked during a rare press conference on Thursday what he would do to improve the rights of minorities including Muslims, Mr Modi insisted “there is no scope for any discrimination” in his government.

“There is no end to data that shows Modi is lying about minority abuse in India, and much of it can be found in the State Department’s own India country reports, which are scathing on human rights,” said Ms Sunita Viswanath, co-founder of Hindus for Human Rights, an advocacy group. REUTERS