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This chapter was made possible through a grant from the Hindu American Foundation.
The US and India expanded cooperation across various domains in the second reporting period of 2023. The two moved to materialize projects and initiatives that were conceived in the first quarter, in wide-ranging domains with significant geopolitical and geoeconomic scope including defense cooperation, critical and emerging technologies, and infrastructure development. While New Delhi continued to straddle groupings such as BRICS, Shanghai Cooperation Organization, and the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, the US-India partnership broke ground on more initiatives than any of India’s other bilateral relationships. Modi and Biden visited each other’s capitals and reaffirmed their commitment to a rules-based international order. The rousing reception Modi received in Washington and the continued US preeminence in most major trade and technology initiatives conceived by India highlighted the growing partnership between the two democracies. And the two leaders, while facing elections next year, seem willing to work together on common global priorities—sometimes at domestic political costs.
Also, while taking place outside the May-August reporting period, the enormous groundwork Delhi laid over the summer (and earlier), plus the absence of Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin, transformed the G20 meeting that took place in September into an event that showcased India’s leadership in finding common ground between the priorities of the Global South and the US. The result was potentially transformative geoeconomic initiatives that could reshape geopolitics, and encourage, for example, the conditions necessary for a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific. This wasn’t the India of nonalignment; this was an India shaping a realignment, with tacit US support.
Figure 1 President Biden and Prime Minister Modi meet at the Oval Office in Washington on June 22, 2023. Evan Vucci/AP
Democracy is Boisterous
In India, the months between May and August witnessed the clamor associated with election season, although in this case, it was the year before national elections. Arbitrary and historical issues filled headlines over pressing matters of economic or national security concern.
Meanwhile, Delhi worked on feats such as landing a rover on the dark side of the moon. On Aug. 23, the country celebrated as India’s spacecraft, Chandrayaan-3 successfully landed on the lunar south pole, making India the fourth nation to successfully land on the moon and the first on the lunar south pole. Space has been an arena for increased cooperation between the US and India. The Modi administration embarked on a privatization drive of the space industry, opening it up to private investors and players in the private sector. The success of the mission, coming on the heels of privatization measures and expanding US-India cooperation, was welcomed by policymakers in both nations.
Figure 2 A 3-channel image of the Chandryaan-3 lunar lander from the rover’s NavCam Stereo Images on the Moon. LEOS/SAC/ISRO
Given the nature of politics and media in a democracy, some tried to turn the success of the mission into a debate over attributing credit to different leaders, with the immediate distraction coming in the form of comments surrounding the Hindu faith by a political leader in the Southern part of India; and soon after there was debate surrounding the name of the nation itself. In late August, invitations to the G20 went out with “Bharat” over India, sparking commotion throughout the nation. Historical debates surrounding the etymology of the word’s origins in Hindu religious texts only subsided when the event convened in early September.
The clamor was not limited to political and cultural issues. Between May and July, unusual weather affected crop cultivation across parts of India, shooting up risks of inflation. In response, the Indian government instituted a ban on rice exports affecting the price of rice around the world. As one of the world’s largest exporters of rice, the export ban squeezed the rice market and shot up the price of the staple by 20% in select markets across the Indo-Pacific region where rice is largely consumed.
Similarly, with the US going to the polls next year, a wide range of issues tested Biden’s presidency, including wildfires that raged across the island of Maui in Hawaii, storms in Florida, the relentless war in Ukraine. Another serious issue was the administration’s slow walk-back of its initial hawkishness toward China. Over the summer, the administration made repeated attempts at thawing relations with China by sending several high-ranking officials to Beijing. These overtures in hope of stabilizing relations have not paid dividends.
These domestic pressures could influence the administration’s foreign policies, and affect US-India relations. For example, the catalyst for expanded cooperation between these two democracies has been the shared concern over a rising, belligerent, and expansionist China. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the US and India have faced China’s repeated violations of their sovereignty. India lost men in the border clashes at the Galwan valley in 2020, and this year the US came to discover spy balloons and secret police stations across the nation, which may be used to harass dissident communities.
The bone of contention since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has been the divergence in views between US and India surrounding Moscow. Domestic pressure in the US, especially coupled with inflationary pressure and a rolling debt crisis raise questions on increasing US financial commitments to Ukraine. A recent poll by CNN found that the majority of Americans opposed giving more aid to Ukraine. Right or wrong, supporting Ukraine with aid and addressing domestic issues are increasingly viewed by some voters as a zero-sum endeavor. This could pressure Biden vis-a-vis Ukraine.
There are other domestic US issues with trajectories difficult to predict. Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy, under pressure from Freedom Caucus Republicans, opened an impeachment enquiry against the president. The migrant crisis is no longer limited to border states. With less than a year to elections, domestic pressures could unpredictably affect Biden’s foreign policy.
At the recently concluded G20 event, despite fears that the leaders would not be able to find consensus, the group managed to settle differences and agree to a statement raising concerns over the war in Ukraine without naming Russia—the US has supported Ukraine in the conflict, while India has thus far declined to speak out against Russia. While speculations ran amok, the watered-down message may have been the US helping India save face at the G20. With tensions surrounding the Russia-Ukraine war relatively contained, Modi capitalized on Xi and Putin’s absence at the G20 meeting to introduce several initiatives with the US, such as the one with Brazil, South Africa and the US, the Global Biofuel Alliance and the India-Middle East-Europe corridor promoting trade and connectivity from the shores of India to the shores of Europe.
Figure 3 Members of the newly launched Global Biofuels Alliance pose together at the G20 Summit on Sept. 9, 2023. Photo: Press Trust of India
Geoeconomics (albeit with geopolitical implications), continued to be a lynchpin for increased cooperation between the world’s largest and fifth-largest economy.
Trade as National Security
As noted in earlier chapters of Comparative Connections covering US-India bilateral relations, the Indian economy has come a long way from the days of a “license raj” marred by socialist regulations to one now being positioned as a friendly shore for supply chain diversification and more. Dregs of the raj era still clog parts of the system however and the Modi government has embarked on a reform drive to liberalize, privatize, and shape policies to positively affect the investment climate. Since the term “friend-shoring” came into parlance a few years ago, the US has consistently positioned India in that context and explored supply chain diversification opportunities across various sectors.
During their trips to New Delhi, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, and US Trade Representative Katherine Tai emphasized India’s role as an alternative to China. Moreover, at the Semicon India conference—a large-scale conference on semiconductors and other critical technologies organized in the western state of Gujarat—several US conglomerates discussed their interest in establishing manufacturing in the country.
There weren’t just grand statements; there were several acts of walking the walk. For example, India and the US decided to settle all outstanding trade disputes at the WTO, and Indian Ambassador to the US Taranjit Singh Sandhu signed the Artemis accords for increased space cooperation. In late July, Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry met with counterparts in the Indian government to explore India’s potential to be a key manufacturer of electric vehicles.
Cooperation, or at least the stated intent to grow cooperation, in trade, supply chains and critical technology has become a mainstay of US-India relations. Even on the margins of the G20, US and India settled trade disputes, finalized purchases of drones and other defense equipment, and announced new geoeconomic and geopolitical initiatives. Slicing the BRICS grouping, India brought the US into a group with South Africa and Brazil now known as the IBSA. Furthermore, several nations formed the Global Biofuel Alliance. Probably the most geoeconomically significant development was the India-Middle East-Europe trade corridor established to promote connectivity between these regions. Dubbed an alternative to China’s Belt and Road Initiative, this connectivity project announced at the G20 event Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment aims to stimulate economic development through enhanced connectivity across two continents. While these initiatives were conceived by policymakers, all have a large private sector role, making their foundation stronger and their shelf life longer.
A bone of contention for big businesses trying to operate in India has been the difficult operating environment. Threats of China’s weaponization of interdependence and economic coercion have pushed policymakers in Washington and New Delhi to drive policy changes with relative urgency, giving confidence to select businesses interested in operating in India. The increasing intersection of national security and trade policymaking that initially raised concerns in business circles is now encouraging the development of economic engagement with India’s large market. For example, US and Indian conglomerates are beginning to explore complimentary attributes across verticals in the critical technology and defense sectors. For US businesses, these collaborations provide access without the bottlenecks they’d face when operating solo. For Indian conglomerates, these partnerships give them access to advanced technologies and a leg up as they compete with the technological giants of China.
Friend-shoring Begins to Materialize
Among the many proposed joint ventures and partnerships, a few stand out due to their geoeconomic and geopolitical significance. Increased cooperation in defense, infrastructure, and critical technology are three spheres with such relevance.
For India, increased cooperation in the defense realm strengthens national security as it faces persistent Chinese aggression at its northern and eastern borders. China’s infrastructure development across the Indian Ocean and subcontinent, from Sri Lanka to Nepal has increased risk in the operating environment. These existing and developing risks have made India a customer for US predator drones and helicopters, including New Delhi’s purchase of 31 MQ-9B Predator drones from General Atomics. General Electric (GE) is working with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) to co-produce GE F-414 fighter jet engines for the Indian Air Force.
In terms of infrastructure, for Washington, India’s hegemonic position in the Indian Ocean, while under constant threat from China and its proxies, remains a potent force to leverage. In late June, the US Navy concluded a master ship repairs agreement (MSRA) with the Indian infrastructure company Larson and Toubro (L&T) in Kattupalli, India. There was also an announcement about the US and India recommitting “to advancing India’s emergence as a hub for the maintenance and repair of forward-deployed U.S. Navy assets and other aircraft and vessels.”
In the critical and advanced technology space, US chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) announced a $400 million investment in India over the next five years, including a new design center in Bengaluru. And in late August, Nvidia announced partnerships with India’s TATA and Reliance in the field of artificial intelligence.
These initial successes are a result of increased coordination at the highest levels of government. During Modi’s visit to Washington in early summer, a defense initiative, the India-US Defense Acceleration Ecosystem (Indus-X) was launched to strengthen defense industrial ecosystems, making them more innovative, accessible, and resilient. This initiative is a product of the US Department of Defense and the Indian Ministry of Defense’s joint efforts to expand cooperation not only amongst large firms but startups in the defense space.
These joint ventures are not limited to the China+1 strategy of companies but serve Washington’s larger geopolitical goal of strengthening India’s deterrent capabilities in the Indian Ocean region. The complimentary nature of industrial policies in both nations that are designed to reduce overdependence on China for vital inputs in key strategic sectors is well supplemented by these joint ventures.
While the success of industrial policies can only be measured over time, these initiatives are what the doctor ordered for increased diversification. Plus, a perennial challenge for the US in courting India was its long friendship with Russia and its reliance on Russian arms and defense imports. With increased defense collaboration, Washington may have a chance at limiting India’s reliance on Russian defense equipment. Furthermore, through partnerships, the US is supporting India’s “Make in India” goals. This can have spillover effects in the global defense sector. Indian defense production companies’ partnerships with Russian state-owned firms have paid dividends through new export markets such as Philippines and Vietnam. The Indian defense industry, while in its nascent stages, is exploring new markets, particularly emerging ones in Southeast Asia, and Sub-Saharan Africa. The US can capitalize on India’s access to these markets to outcompete Russian defense exports.
Figure 4 Prime Minister Modi and President Biden meet with various CEOs and other senior officials in the East Room of the White House on June 23, 2023. Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters
While the US technology supports India’s ascent to the fourth industrial revolution, India’s goodwill in the Global South could pay dividends for the US, particularly in parts of the world where it has a complex legacy.
The Bridge Between the Global South and North
COVID-19, the war in Ukraine, and the resulting economic and political crises have led the resurgence of the “Global South”—developing countries seeking a leverage through unity on the global stage. Increasingly, they’ve found themselves caught in the crossfire of larger nations such as the US and China. James Marape, prime minister of Papua New Guinea (PNG), in his address at the Forum for India-Pacific Islands Cooperation, called for Modi to offer a third voice in the face of the Global North. Hailing Modi as the leader of the Global South, Marape went on to suggest that the Pacific Island countries would rally behind him voice at global forums. Interestingly, Biden had to cancel his scheduled participation at the meeting to attend more pressing domestic concerns over the debt ceiling crisis. While Secretary of State Antony Blinken made the trip and signed a crucial defense agreement with PNG, he did not receive the same warmth and welcome as the Indian prime minister. Modi and Marape shared solidarity and as the PNG leader called it, “shared history of being colonized by colonial masters” brought about a unique kinship.
India is not the only state capitalizing on the shared experiences of colonial rule or Western imperialism and the resulting solidarity to strengthen ties with nations of the Global South. China has consistently reminded former colonies in the Global South of the brutality of the Western world and sought to gain goodwill among leaders and civil society. While the wounds evoked may be the same, the remedy offered is markedly different. The stark contrast between the Indian approach to the Global South and the Chinese approach can be seen in how they talk about the Western world. New Delhi does not remind nations of their past as a motivation for revenge but rather to spur cooperation with the West on more equal terms. Beijing (much like Moscow) calls for deliberate mechanisms and groupings in opposition to the West.
For example, since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the subsequent sanctions on its economy, Moscow has sought the creation, expansion, or hardening of groupings to stand against the Western world. The BRICS grouping, initially a talk shop, has expanded to address a plethora of issues impacting the larger Global South. Russia and China are trying to shape it into a platform for nations with disputes with the Western world to exacerbate the cleavage. In early 2023, 16 nations applied to become part of the BRICS. In the last major meeting of the group in Johannesburg, South Africa in August, six nations were added. Moscow and Beijing continue to use the group to test alternative mechanisms for the SWIFT banking network and other instruments to sanction-proof themselves. The creation of development banks such as the NDB has given the group more access to the developing world and tapped into the grievances surrounding the debts offered by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.
New Delhi continues to engage with a range of groups to capitalize on the benefits they offer while advocating for its own interests, and having useful sideline meetings with others that, like India, may be looking for options. Its outreach to the Global South has largely been bilateral and it hasn’t used these platforms for broad anti-West coalition building. Rather it has tried to build multilateral inclusivity that can lead to stronger bilateral ties.
Take India’s successful advocacy to include the African Union (AU) in the G20 group. Modi had consistently called for including the AU in the group. At the G20 meeting in September, the African Union represented by Azali Assoumani, president of Comoros, was made a permanent member. This makes the G20 more inclusive and broader in scope, and dovetails with India’s own outreach to African countries. As one small example, Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar visited Tanzania earlier in the summer to inaugurate a university and discuss increased cooperation on a variety of sectors.
Part of this has strategic implications. India’s conception of the Indo-Pacific region is not the same as that of the US. While the US conceptualization roughly parallels the operational area of the US Indo-Pacific Command—from just west of the Maldives to the coast of the Americas—India includes the whole Indian Ocean, including the eastern shore of Africa.
Also, over the last six months, India has increasingly shown willingness to be involved in the Pacific part of the Indo-Pacific, beyond ASEAN and including the Pacific Islands. There was a port call in Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea and India opened a new embassy in Dilli, Timor-Leste. There is eagerness in the Pacific Islands to see what follows the 12 point plan for engagement that Modi announced in his May visit to PNG. India’s engagement with the Pacific Islands has traditionally been on nonconventional security issues such as public health and capacity building, exactly the sort of engagement many Pacific Islands have said they want.
Figure 5 Prime Minister Modi delivers opening remarks in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea at the Forum for India-Pacific Islands Cooperation summit on May 22, 2023. Adek Berry/AFP via Getty Images
Furthermore, in an unusual turn of events, the former heads of the three branches of the Indian military visited Taiwan for a closed-door meeting with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Taiwan. By engaging with the full Indo-Pacific, from east African nations to Pacific Islands, and including sensitive points such as Taiwan, India is more than testing the waters as an expanding security provider—especially in human security, which is much in demand across the region.
India does not have the same legacy as the West’s previous “point country” in the Pacific Islands, Australia, nor has it been as disconnected from the African continent as has the US. The last US president to visit the continent was Barack Obama in 2015, and that was not a state visit but a visit to his ancestral village in Kenya. Over the same decade, China has made inroads into nations small and big. Beijing’s BRI project runs along the length and breadth of the continent. To counter China’s predatory lending, New Delhi has advocated for expanding lending to poorer nations, including at the recently concluded G20. President Biden has supported India’s recommendation and called for increased funding for the World Bank. From the Pacific Islands to east Africa, India can knit the region together in a way that the West can’t, and China doesn’t want to. The G20 showcased the potential for India and the US (and likeminded countries) to work together to develop solutions for the people of Global South, aiding in economic stability and ultimately for upholding a rules-based international order.
With Xi and Putin not attending the event, Modi and Biden stole the spotlight and shone it on a potential future that many wanted to see. That said, press releases are one thing. It will be outcomes that matter.
Conclusion
On social media, two covers of the Indian magazine India Today have been making the rounds. One was from the early ‘80s, with Indira Gandhi and Fidel Castro on the cover, with the headline “India Leads.” The other, from 2023, had Xi, and Putin together on one side, and Modi and Biden together on the other, with the headline “the big power game.”
Long gone are the ‘80s and the era of nonalignment. In this era of realignment, the US-India relationship is not perfect (and no relationship between two clamorous democracies should be) but it is on solid ground and planting serious roots, as the last four months would indicate.
The areas and scale of cooperation keep expanding, and the evolving world order may be a good opening for the US and India to reimagine a world driven by shared interests and a commitment for the rules-based order. Perhaps it is time for something along the lines of an Indo-Pacific Charter for an Indo-Pacific Century, just as the Atlantic Charter shaped the Atlantic Century. In the coming months, if policymakers in both democracies live by the motto “carpe diem,” they can take inspiration from India’s inspiring moonshot and realize that even the sky is not the limit.
Chronology by Pacific Forum interns Patrick Kovacs and Chelsea Patrick
May 1, 2023: Indian Ambassador to the US Taranjit Singh Sandhu Sandhu attends the SelectUSA Investment Summit in the Washington, DC area.
May 2, 2023: United States Agency for International Development (USAID) convenes the first South Asia Clean Energy Forum (SACEF) to foster regional cooperation and advance clean energy initiatives in South Asian countries including India.
May 11, 2023: Eric Garcetti presents credentials to President Droupadi Murmu to be US ambassador to India.
May 11, 2023: Prime Minister Narendra Modi lays the foundation stone of LIGO-India, a project funded by the US National Science Foundation.
May 17, 2023: 17th US-India Defense Policy Group discuss goals in the Indo-Pacific to deepen the Major Defense Partnership.
May 19, 2023: US Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Indo-American Chamber of Commerce in India renew MOU to enhance development collaboration in India.
May 20, 2023: Indian Minister of External Affairs S. Jaishankar meets US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on the sidelines of the G7 leaders’ summit in Hiroshima.
May 21, 2023: India, the US, and their G7 partners conclude a successful summit, having discussed several issues including climate, food security, investment, and nuclear disarmament.
May 21, 2023: MH-60R helicopters purchased by India from the United States land for the first time on INS Kolkata, representing a major increase in Indian antisubmarine capabilities.
May 22, 2023: US Department of Commerce’s Cybersecurity Business Development Trade Mission arrives in India for four days of talks with officials of the local governments of Mumbai and New Delhi and the central government.
May 22, 2023: Neeta Prasad, joint secretary for International Cooperation at the Indian Ministry of Education, and Donald Lu, assistant secretary at the State Dept. Bureau of South and Central Asia, co-host launch of the US India Education and Skills Development Working Group and hold, in hybrid format, its first meeting.
May 23, 2023: US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) hosts workshop on US-India 5G & Next Generation Networks to develop new opportunities for US-India technical and commercial cooperation in the sector.
May 26, 2023: State Department formally dedicates new consulate in Hyderabad.
May 29, 2023: US Consulate General Kolkata announces that after years of coordination between the US and Indian governments, the remains of Maj. Gen. Henry Kleinbeck Pickett, decorated veteran of both world wars who passed away in Darjeeling in 1965, would be repatriated to the United States.
May 30, 2023: Department of Labor awards Lalitha Natarajan, a Chennai-based lawyer, with the 2023 Iqbal Masih Award for the Elimination of Child Labor at the US Consulate General in Chennai.
May 30, 2023: US Navy Vice Adm. Brad Cooper meets Indian Navy Vice Adm. Dinesh K. Tripathi on a visit to Mumbai.
June 1, 2023: US collaborates with India to address air pollution and climate change during a workshop with the Delhi-based nonprofit Lung Care Foundation at the India International Center.
June 3, 2023: President Biden releases a press statement expressing sorrow over a crash in eastern India when two passenger trains and a freight train collide, resulting in the deaths of at least 288 people.
June 4, 2023: US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin meets Defense Minister Rajnath Singh in New Delhi to strengthen the US-India defense partnership.
June 9, 2023: India and the US launch the India-US Strategic Trade Dialogue (IUSSTD), designed to further enhance collaboration and trade in critical domains.
June 13, 2023: US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan meets Prime Minister Modi, Minister for External Affairs S. Jaishankar, and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval in New Delhi to discuss removing obstacles to technology and defense trade between the US and India in preparation for the upcoming official state visit.
June 15, 2023: Indian government approves the acquisition of 31 MQ-9B Predator drones from US manufacturer General Atomics. They will be used for maritime surveillance and monitoring the country’s borders with China and Pakistan.
June 21, 2023: Minister of State for Tourism Shripad Yesso Naik meets US Director of National Travel and Tourism Office Brian Beall at the fourth Tourism Working Group and Ministerial Meeting at G20.
June 21, 2023: Prime Minister Modi and First Lady Jill Biden participate in the “India and USA: Skilling for Future” event at the National Science Center in Washington, DC.
June 21, 2023: US Department of Defense and the Indian Ministry of Defense launch the India-US Defense Acceleration Ecosystem (INDUS-X).
June 21, 2023: Indian Ambassador to the US Taranjit Singh Sandhu signs the Artemis Accords, an agreement on space cooperation, on behalf of India in Washington, DC.
June 22, 2023: USAID and Indian Railways announced an MOU to combat climate change and achieve Indian Railways’ target of net-zero carbon emissions by 2030.
June 22, 2023: General Electric signs an MOU with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited to co-produce GE F-414 fighter jet engines for the Indian Air Force.
June 22, 2023: President Joe Biden meets Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Washington, DC to discuss deals on critical technologies, strengthen their defense partnership and prioritize clean energy. During these meetings, after years of preparation, India also became the 14th member of the US-led Minerals Security Partnership.
June 22, 2023: India agrees with the US to terminate six disputes at the World Trade Organization (WTO), and India removes retaliatory tariffs.
June 23, 2023: Secretary Blinken and Vice President Kamala Harris host State Luncheon for Prime Minister Modi.
June 23, 2023: India’s Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) successfully concludes Operation Broader Sword, a joint effort with various US agencies.
June 23, 2023: Prime Minister Modi speaks to about 1,000 leading professionals of various disciplines, inviting them to partner with India in their business ventures, at the John F. Kennedy Center in Washington DC.
July 6, 2023: Ambassador Eric Garcetti expresses sorrow over ethnic violence in India’s northeastern state of Manipur after 120 people were killed in clashes between Kuki and Meiteis tribes.
July 9, 2023: Uzra Zeya, US undersecretary for civilian security, democracy, and human rights meets with senior Indian officials, including Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra, to deepen US-India cooperation on humanitarian support and Indo-Pacific stability.
July 9, 2023: US Navy Ship Salvor arrives in India for repairs, the first ship to be welcomed to the L&T Shipyard since the signing of the Master Ship Repair Agreement (MSRA) between the shipyard and the Navy.
July 12, 2023: US Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti and Minister of State Jitendra Singh launch a new grant from the United States-India Science & Technology Endowment Fund, available to innovators from both nations in quantum technologies and artificial intelligence.
July 13, 2023: NASA announces that the two main components of the NISAR satellite, one primarily built by the US, and one primarily built by India, had been joined in mid-June.
July 17, 2023: US Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen discusses the advancement of multilateral development banks with the Minister of Finance of India Nirmala Sitharaman at the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors in Gandhinagar, Gujrat.
July 18, 2023: Prime Minister Modi thanks the US for the return of 105 trafficked antiquities as old as the 2nd century A.D.
July 18, 2023: US Navy vessel USS Stethem conducts exercises with Indian Navy vessel INS Tarkash to improve interoperability and demonstrate a commitment to cooperation on the seas.
July 18, 2023: Indian Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep S. Puri and Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm hold third ministerial meeting of the US-India Strategic Clean Energy Partnership (SCEP) in New Delhi. The sides noted the growing importance of bilateral energy cooperation while underscoring the critical importance of bilateral clean energy engagement.
July 25, 2023: Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry meets Dr. Mahendra Nath Pandey to discuss sustainable energy and India’s potential to be a key manufacturer of electric vehicles.
July 27, 2023: Michael Regan, administrator of the US Environmental Protection Agency, joins a shore walk across the Chennai coastline, where he meets Indian high school students who provide demonstrations of the impact of ocean health on climate.
July 28, 2023: G20 climate summit in Bengaluru concludes with an agreement on the majority, but not all 68 points of discussion.
July 28, 2023: Consul General of Mumbai Mike Hankey affirms his belief in India’s “golden opportunity” for US private sector investment at Semicon India 2023, inaugurated by Modi.
July 28, 2023: US chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) dedicates $400 million investment in India over the next five years to include a new design center in Bengaluru and the creation of 3,000 new engineering roles.
Aug. 8, 2023: Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues Rao Gupta concludes a week-long visit to India, during which she leads the US delegation to the G20 Alliance for the Empowerment and Progression of Women’s Economic Representation Conference and the G20 Ministerial Conference on Women’s Empowerment.
Aug. 9, 2023: Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) hosts an international conference in celebration of World Biofuel Day 2023 in New Delhi, with speakers including Minister of State for Environment, Forests, and Climate Change Shri Ashwini Kumar Choubey , and Jonathan Heimer, Minister Counselor for Commercial Affairs at the Commercial Service.
Aug. 9, 2023: Ambassador Garcetti meets Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan to discuss student mobility and promote skill cooperation.
Aug. 16, 2023: Prime Minister Modi receives a US congressional delegation, emphasizing the importance of the two countries’ shared democratic ideals and expressing his appreciation for the US Congress’ support for US-India relations.
Aug. 21, 2023: US and Indian Navies conclude their annual Exercise Malabar, this time accompanied by Japan and Australian forces and hosted in Sydney.
Aug. 22-27, 2023: Assistant Secretary of State for Education and Cultural Affairs Lee Satterfield concludes a visit to India, which included leading the US delegation to the G20 Culture Ministers’ Meeting in Varanasi.
Aug. 26, 2023: Indian Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal meets US Trade Representative Katherine Tai, including to address concerns over India’s decision to impose import restrictions on certain electronic devices and the effect this may have on US exports.
Aug. 26, 2023: EducationUSA, supported by the Bureau of Education and Cultural Affairs of the Department of State, kicks off a fair bringing US university representatives to India to meet potential Indian students.
Aug. 28, 2023: US “Tridents” of Patrol Squadron (VP) 26 complete a week-long training on maritime patrol and reconnaissance with Indian Naval Air Squadron (INAS) 312 in Tamil Nadu.
Aug. 29, 2023: Indian Health Minister Mansukh Mandviya meets Ambassador Garcetti to discuss “health collaborations in Research and Development, artificial intelligence and increasing health access and equity.”
Aug. 29, 2023: Officials from Department of Energy (DOE) meet counterparts from the Indian Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) to launch the US-India Renewable Energy Technology Action Platform (RETAP), designed to advance new and emerging renewable technologies.