 |
| Pix credit The New Indian |
As the leaders of sovereign and vibrant democracies that value freedom, the rule of law, human rights, and pluralism, President Trump and Prime Minister Modi reaffirmed the strength of the India-U.S. Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership, anchored in mutual trust, shared interests, goodwill and robust engagement of their citizens.
Today, President Trump and Prime Minister Modi launched a new initiative – the “U.S.-India COMPACT (Catalyzing Opportunities for Military Partnership, Accelerated Commerce & Technology) for the 21st Century” – to drive transformative change across key pillars of cooperation. Under this initiative, they committed to a results-driven agenda with initial outcomes this year to demonstrate the level of trust for a mutually beneficial partnership. (United States-India Joint Leaders’ Statement).
The United States and Inida's relationships continues its transformation, and perhaps at an accelerating clip. During the course of a visit to Washington, D.C. by Prime Minister Modi and a meeting with President Trump, the expectations for that relationship going forward were set out in a United States-India Joint Leaders’ Statement, which follows below. Its crown jewel, perhaps, was the announcement of the “U.S.-India COMPACT (Catalyzing Opportunities for Military Partnership, Accelerated Commerce & Technology) for the 21st Century”. The initiative includes action in defense, trade and investment, energy security, technology and innovation, multilateral cooperation, and people-to-people cooperation. If things go well it may serve both U.S. and Indian interests (expressed quite differently) but united in cooperation against a common competitor , and its nearby dependent states. As interesting within this new architecture is the announcement that the "United States and India are launching a new Autonomous Systems Industry Alliance (ASIA) aimed at boosting co-development and co-production of maritime drones and counter-drone systems." (here). An analysis from the Indian side here, and here)
Ironically that is undertaken in ways that signal convergence of the forms of relations in the post-global. To the extent that this framework serves as the new template for U.S. outbound relations, the convergence with the sensibilities of China's Belt & Road Initiative continues to move forward, but with American characteristics. The possibilities were sufficient to elicit a precautionary response from the Chinese side, one that backhandedly acknowledged the potential value of the cooperation scheme: "
Beijing on Friday urged the US and India to avoid “using" China as a “talking point” to “incite” bloc confrontation, state media reported. “In developing relations and conducting cooperation between nations, it is important not to use China as a talking point, nor should it be an opportunity to incite group politics and bloc confrontation,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun told reporters in Beijing. The statement came after US President Donald Trump hosted Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Washington for summit-level talks on Thursday. (Avoid ‘using’ China to incite bloc confrontation: Beijing tells US, India).The remarks were made by Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Guo Jiakun at the MOFA Regular Press Conference on February 14, 2025 (see here). The understatement drove home the point.
The President of the United States of America, The Honorable Donald
J. Trump hosted the Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi for an
Official Working Visit in Washington, DC on February 13, 2025.
As
the leaders of sovereign and vibrant democracies that value freedom,
the rule of law, human rights, and pluralism, President Trump and Prime
Minister Modi reaffirmed the strength of the India-U.S. Comprehensive
Global Strategic Partnership, anchored in mutual trust, shared
interests, goodwill and robust engagement of their citizens.
Today, President Trump and Prime Minister Modi launched a new initiative – the
“U.S.-India COMPACT (Catalyzing Opportunities for Military Partnership,
Accelerated Commerce & Technology) for the 21st Century” –
to drive transformative change across key pillars of cooperation. Under
this initiative, they committed to a results-driven agenda with initial
outcomes this year to demonstrate the level of trust for a mutually
beneficial partnership.
Defense
1.
Highlighting the deepening convergence of U.S.-India strategic
interests, the leaders reaffirmed their unwavering commitment to a
dynamic defense partnership spanning multiple domains. To advance
defense ties further, the leaders announced plans to sign this year a
new ten-year Framework for the U.S.-India Major Defense Partnership in the 21st Century.
2.
The leaders welcomed the significant integration of U.S.-origin
defense items into India’s inventory to date, including C‑130J Super
Hercules, C‑17 Globemaster III, P‑8I Poseidon aircraft; CH‑47F Chinooks,
MH‑60R Seahawks, and AH‑64E Apaches; Harpoon anti-ship missiles; M777
howitzers; and MQ‑9Bs. The leaders determined that the U.S. would
expand defense sales and co-production with India to strengthen
interoperability and defense industrial cooperation. They announced
plans to pursue this year new procurements and co-production
arrangements for “Javelin” Anti-Tank Guided Missiles and “Stryker”
Infantry Combat Vehicles in India to rapidly meet India’s defense
requirements. They also expect completion of procurement for six
additional P-8I Maritime Patrol aircraft to enhance India’s maritime
surveillance reach in the Indian Ocean Region following agreement on
sale terms.
3. Recognizing that India is a Major Defense
Partner with Strategic Trade Authorization-1 (STA‑1) authorization and a
key Quad partner, the U.S. and India will review their respective arms
transfer regulations, including International Traffic in Arms
Regulations (ITAR), in order to streamline defense trade, technology
exchange and maintenance, spare supplies and in-country repair and
overhaul of U.S.-provided defense systems. The leaders also called for
opening negotiations this year for a Reciprocal Defense Procurement
(RDP) agreement to better align their procurement systems and enable the
reciprocal supply of defense goods and services. The leaders pledged to
accelerate defense technology cooperation across space, air defense,
missile, maritime and undersea technologies, with the U.S. announcing a
review of its policy on releasing fifth generation fighters and undersea
systems to India.
4. Building on the U.S.-India Roadmap for
Defense Industrial Cooperation and recognizing the rising importance of
autonomous systems, the leaders announced a new initiative – the Autonomous Systems Industry Alliance (ASIA)
– to scale industry partnerships and production in the Indo-Pacific.
The leaders welcomed a new partnership between Anduril Industries and
Mahindra Group on advanced autonomous technologies to co-develop and
co-produce state-of-the-art maritime systems and advanced AI-enabled
counter Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) to strengthen regional security,
and between L3 Harris and Bharat Electronics for co-development of
active towed array systems.
5. The leaders also pledged to
elevate military cooperation across all domains – air, land, sea, space,
and cyberspace – through enhanced training, exercises, and operations,
incorporating the latest technologies. The leaders welcomed the
forthcoming “Tiger Triumph” tri-service exercise (first inaugurated in
2019) with larger scale and complexity to be hosted in India.
6.
Finally, the leaders committed to break new ground to support and
sustain the overseas deployments of the U.S. and Indian militaries in
the Indo-Pacific, including enhanced logistics and intelligence sharing,
as well as arrangements to improve force mobility for joint
humanitarian and disaster relief operations along with other exchanges
and security cooperation engagements.
Trade and Investment
7.
The leaders resolved to expand trade and investment to make their
citizens more prosperous, nations stronger, economies more innovative
and supply chains more resilient. They resolved to deepen the
U.S.-India trade relationship to promote growth that ensures fairness,
national security and job creation. To this end, the leaders set a bold
new goal for bilateral trade – “Mission 500” – aiming to more than double total bilateral trade to $500 billion by 2030.
8.
Recognizing that this level of ambition would require new, fair-trade
terms, the leaders announced plans to negotiate the first tranche of a
mutually beneficial, multi-sector Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA)
by fall of 2025. The leaders committed to designate senior
representatives to advance these negotiations and to ensure that the
trade relationship fully reflects the aspirations of the COMPACT. To
advance this innovative, wide-ranging BTA, the U.S. and India will take
an integrated approach to strengthen and deepen bilateral trade across
the goods and services sector, and will work towards increasing market
access, reducing tariff and non-tariff barriers, and deepening supply
chain integration.
9. The leaders welcomed early steps to
demonstrate mutual commitment to address bilateral trade barriers. The
United States welcomed India’s recent measures to lower tariffs on U.S.
products of interest in the areas of bourbon, motorcycles, ICT products
and metals, as well as measures to enhance market access for U.S.
agricultural products, like alfalfa hay and duck meat, and medical
devices. India also expressed appreciation for U.S. measures taken to
enhance exports of Indian mangoes and pomegranates to the United States.
Both sides also pledged to collaborate to enhance bilateral trade by
increasing U.S. exports of industrial goods to India and Indian exports
of labor-intensive manufactured products to the United States. The two
sides will also work together to increase trade in agricultural goods.
10.
Finally, the leaders committed to drive opportunities for U.S. and
Indian companies to make greenfield investments in high-value industries
in each other’s countries. In this regard, the leaders welcomed
ongoing investments by Indian companies worth approximately $7.35
billion, such as those by Hindalco’s Novelis in finished aluminum goods
at their state-of-the art facilities in Alabama and Kentucky; JSW in
steel manufacturing operations at Texas and Ohio; Epsilon Advanced
Materials in the manufacture of critical battery materials in North
Carolina; and Jubilant Pharma in the manufacture of injectables in
Washington. These investments support over 3,000 high-quality jobs for
local families.
Energy Security
11.
The leaders agreed that energy security is fundamental to economic
growth, social well-being and technical innovation in both countries.
They underscored the importance of U.S.-India collaboration to ensure
energy affordability, reliability, and availability and stable energy
markets. Realizing the consequential role of the U.S. and India, as
leading producers and consumers, in driving the global energy landscape,
the leaders re-committed to the U.S.-India Energy Security Partnership,
including in oil, gas, and civil nuclear energy.
12. The
leaders underscored the importance of enhancing the production of
hydrocarbons to ensure better global energy prices and secure affordable
and reliable energy access for their citizens. The leaders also
underscored the value of strategic petroleum reserves to preserve
economic stability during crises and resolved to work with key partners
to expand strategic oil reserve arrangements. In this context, the U.S.
side affirmed its firm support for India to join the International
Energy Agency as a full member.
13. The leaders reaffirmed
their commitment to increase energy trade, as part of efforts to ensure
energy security, and to establish the United States as a leading
supplier of crude oil and petroleum products and liquified natural gas
to India, in line with the growing needs and priorities of our dynamic
economies. They underscored the tremendous scope and opportunity to
increase trade in the hydrocarbon sector including natural gas, ethane
and petroleum products as part of efforts to ensure supply
diversification and energy security. The leaders committed to enhance
investments, particularly in oil and gas infrastructure, and facilitate
greater cooperation between the energy companies of the two countries.
14.
The leaders announced their commitment to fully realize the U.S.-India
123 Civil Nuclear Agreement by moving forward with plans to work
together to build U.S.-designed nuclear reactors in India through large
scale localization and possible technology transfer. Both sides welcomed
the recent Budget announcement by Government of India to take up
amendments to the Atomic Energy Act and the Civil Liability for Nuclear
Damage Act (CLNDA) for nuclear reactors and further decided to establish
bilateral arrangements in accordance with CLNDA, that would address the
issue of civil liability and facilitate the collaboration of Indian and
U.S. industry in the production and deployment of nuclear reactors.
This path forward will unlock plans to build large U.S.-designed
reactors and enable collaboration to develop, deploy and scale up
nuclear power generation with advanced small modular reactors.
Technology and Innovation
15. The leaders announced the launch of the U.S.-India TRUST
(“Transforming the Relationship Utilizing Strategic Technology”)
initiative, which will catalyze government-to-government, academia and
private sector collaboration to promote application of critical and
emerging technologies in areas like defense, artificial intelligence,
semiconductors, quantum, biotechnology, energy and space, while
encouraging the use of verified technology vendors and ensuring
sensitive technologies are protected.
16. As a central pillar
of the “TRUST” initiative, the leaders committed to work with U.S. and
Indian private industry to put forward a U.S.-India Roadmap on Accelerating AI Infrastructure
by the end of the year, identifying constraints to financing, building,
powering, and connecting large-scale U.S.-origin AI infrastructure in
India with milestones and future actions. The U.S. and India will work
together to enable industry partnerships and investments in next
generation data centers, cooperation on development and access to
compute and processors for AI, for innovations in AI models and building
AI applications for solving societal challenges while addressing the
protections and controls necessary to protect these technologies and
reduce regulatory barriers.
17. The leaders announced the launch of INDUS Innovation,
a new innovation bridge modeled after the successful INDUS-X platform,
that will advance U.S.-India industry and academic partnerships and
foster investments in space, energy, and other emerging technologies to
maintain U.S. and India leadership in innovation and to meet the needs
of the 21st century. The leaders also reinforced their commitment to
the INDUS-X initiative, which facilities partnerships between U.S. and
Indian defense companies, investors and universities to produce critical
capability for our militaries and welcomed the next summit in 2025.
18.
The leaders also committed, as part of the TRUST initiative, to build
trusted and resilient supply chains, including for semiconductors,
critical minerals, advanced materials and pharmaceuticals. As part of
this effort, the leaders plan to encourage public and private
investments to expand Indian manufacturing capacity, including in the
U.S., for active pharmaceutical ingredients for critical medicines.
These investments will create good jobs, diversify vital supply chains,
and reduce the risk of life-saving drug shortages in both the United
States and India.
19. Recognizing the strategic importance of
critical minerals for emerging technologies and advanced manufacturing,
India and the United States will accelerate collaboration in research
and development and promote investment across the entire critical
mineral value chain, as well as through the Mineral Security
Partnership, of which both the United States and India are members. Both
countries have committed to intensifying efforts to deepen cooperation
in the exploration, beneficiation, and processing as well as recycling
technologies of critical minerals. To this end, the leaders announced
the launch of the Strategic Mineral Recovery initiative, a new
U.S.-India program to recover and process critical minerals (including
lithium, cobalt, and rare earths) from heavy industries like aluminum,
coal mining and oil and gas.
20. The leaders hailed 2025 as a
pioneering year for U.S.-India civil space cooperation, with plans for a
NASA-ISRO effort through AXIOM to bring the first Indian astronaut to
the International Space Station (ISS), and early launch of the joint
“NISAR” mission, the first of its kind to systematically map changes to
the Earth’s surface using dual radars. The leaders called for more
collaboration in space exploration, including on long duration human
spaceflight missions, spaceflight safety and sharing of expertise and
professional exchanges in emerging areas, including planetary
protection. The leaders committed to further commercial space
collaboration through industry engagements in conventional and emerging
areas, such as connectivity, advanced spaceflight, satellite and space
launch systems, space sustainability, space tourism and advanced space
manufacturing.
21. The leaders underscored the value of
deepening ties between the U.S. and Indian scientific research
communities, announcing a new partnership between the U.S. National Science Foundation and the Indian Anusandhan National Research Foundation in
researching critical and emerging technologies. This partnership
builds on ongoing collaboration between the U.S. National Science
Foundation and several Indian science agencies to enable joint research
in the areas of semiconductors, connected vehicles, machine learning,
next-generation telecommunications, intelligent transportation systems,
and future biomanufacturing.
22. The leaders determined that
their governments redouble efforts to address export controls, enhance
high technology commerce, and reduce barriers to technology transfer
between our two countries, while addressing technology security. The
leaders also resolved to work together to counter the common challenge
of unfair practices in export controls by third parties seeking to
exploit overconcentration of critical supply chains.
Multilateral Cooperation
23.
The leaders reaffirmed that a close partnership between the U.S. and
India is central to a free, open, peaceful and prosperous Indo-Pacific
region. As Quad partners, the leaders reiterated that this partnership
is underpinned by the recognition of ASEAN centrality; adherence to
international law and good governance; support for safety and freedom of
navigation, overflight and other lawful uses of the seas; and unimpeded
lawful commerce; and advocacy for peaceful resolution of maritime
disputes in accordance with international law.
24. Prime
Minister Modi looks forward to hosting President Trump in New Delhi for
the Quad leaders’ Summit, ahead of which the leaders will activate new
Quad initiatives on shared airlift capacity to support civilian response
to natural disasters and maritime patrols to improve interoperability.
25. The leaders resolved to increase cooperation, enhance
diplomatic consultations, and increase tangible collaboration with
partners in the Middle East. They highlighted the importance of
investing in critical infrastructure and economic corridors to advancing
peace and security in the region. The leaders plan to convene partners
from the India-Middle East-Europe Corridor and the I2U2 Group within
the next six months in order to announce new initiatives in 2025.
26.
The US appreciates India’s role as a developmental, humanitarian
assistance and net security provider in the Indian Ocean Region. In this
context, the leaders committed to deepen bilateral dialogue and
cooperation across the vast Indian Ocean region and launched the Indian Ocean Strategic Venture,
a new bilateral, whole-of-government forum to advance coordinated
investments in economic connectivity and commerce. Supporting greater
Indian Ocean connectivity, the leaders also welcomed Meta’s announcement
of a multi-billion, multi-year investment in an undersea cable project
that will begin work this year and ultimately stretch over 50,000 km to
connect five continents and strengthen global digital highways in the
Indian Ocean region and beyond. India intends to invest in maintenance,
repair and financing of undersea cables in the Indian Ocean, using
trusted vendors.
27. The leaders recognized the need to build
new plurilateral anchor partnerships in the Western Indian Ocean,
Middle East, and Indo-Pacific to grow relationships, commerce and
cooperation across defense, technology, energy and critical minerals.
The leaders expect to announce new partnership initiatives across these
sub-regions by fall of 2025.
28. The leaders also resolved
to advance military cooperation in multinational settings to advance
global peace and security. The leaders applauded India’s decision to
take on a future leadership role in the Combined Maritime Forces naval
task force to help secure sea lanes in the Arabian Sea.
29.
The leaders reaffirmed that the global scourge of terrorism must be
fought, and terrorist safe havens eliminated from every corner of the
world. They committed to strengthen cooperation against terrorist
threats from groups, including Al-Qa’ida, ISIS, Jaish-e-Mohammad, and
Lashkar-e-Tayyiba in order to prevent heinous acts like the attacks in
Mumbai on 26/11 and the Abbey Gate bombing in Afghanistan on August 26,
2021. Recognizing a shared desire to bring to justice those who would
harm our citizens, the U.S. announced that the extradition to India of
Tahawwur Rana has been approved. The leaders further called on Pakistan
to expeditiously bring to justice the perpetrators of the 26/11 Mumbai,
and Pathankot attacks and ensure that its territory is not used to carry
out cross-border terrorist attacks. The leaders also pledged to work
together to prevent proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and
their delivery systems and to deny access to such weapons by terrorists
and non-state actors.
People to People Cooperation
30.
President Trump and Prime Minister Modi noted the importance of
advancing the people-to-people ties between the two countries. In this
context, they noted that the more than 300,000 strong Indian student
community contributes over $8 billion annually to the U.S. economy and
helped create a number of direct and indirect jobs. They recognized that
the talent flow and movement of students, researchers and employees,
has mutually benefitted both countries. Recognizing the importance of
international academic collaborations in fostering innovation, improving
learning outcomes and development of a future-ready workforce, both
leaders resolved to strengthen collaborations between the higher
education institutions through efforts such as joint/dual degree and
twinning programs, establishing joint Centers of Excellence, and setting
up of offshore campuses of premier educational institutions of the U.S.
in India.
31. Both leaders emphasized that the evolution of
the world into a global workplace calls for putting in place innovative,
mutually advantageous and secure mobility frameworks. In this regard,
the leaders committed to streamlining avenues for legal mobility of
students and professionals, and facilitating short-term tourist and
business travel, while also aggressively addressing illegal immigration
and human trafficking by taking strong action against bad actors,
criminal facilitators, and illegal immigration networks to promote
mutual security for both countries.
32. The leaders also
committed to strengthen law enforcement cooperation to take decisive
action against illegal immigration networks, organized crime syndicates,
including narco-terrorists human and arms traffickers, as well as other
elements who threaten public and diplomatic safety and security, and
the sovereignty and territorial integrity of both nations.
33.
President Trump and Prime Minister Modi pledged to sustain high-level
engagement between our governments, industries, and academic
institutions and realize their ambitious vision for an enduring
India-U.S. partnership that advances the aspirations of our people for a
bright and prosperous future, serves the global good, and contributes
to a free and open Indo-Pacific.
No comments:
Post a Comment