India-US relationship could be most important transaction of 21st century, says UK's Economist ahead of PM Modi's US visit

The Economist, a weekly newspaper based in London, on Thursday said in an article that India is "indispensable to America’s effort to assert itself in Asia and deter Chinese aggression".

The Economist's cover story comes days before PM Narendra Modi is set to travel to the US on an official visit from June 21 to 24. He will be hosted by President Joe Biden at the White House.

US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo said Prime Minister Modi's upcoming visit to the US will serve as an opportunity to enhance the commercial and strategic technology partnerships between the two nations. She specifically mentioned sectors such as defence, semiconductors, and clean energy as areas of focus. PM Modi will be the first Indian premier to address a Joint Meeting of the US Congress twice.

"India does not love the West. But America needs it—and the two countries’ relationship may be the most important transaction of the 21st century," tweeted the newspaper on Thursday.

"Thanks in part to its diaspora, India’s soft power is world-beating. The bosses of Alphabet, ibm and Microsoft are of Indian descent, as are the heads of three of America’s five top business schools," wrote the UK newspaper about the changing dynamics of India-US relationship.

The Defence Acquisition Council or DAC, led by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, on Thursday approved the deal for acquiring Predator drones from US. 

The Biden administration reckons this would be the biggest milestone in the bilateral relationship since the striking, in 2005, of a civil-nuclear co-operation agreement, the newspaper said.

US has scheduled a welcome ceremony and a state dinner along with an address to the Joint Session of the US Congress on June 22.

On June 21, Modi will lead an International Yoga Day function at the United Nations Secretariat.

Mutual suspicion of China should keep India and US close, said The Economist.

"By boosting India’s defence industry, America hopes to wean it off dud Russian weapons and provide an affordable new source of arms for other Asian democracies. Other areas of co-operation could include clean energy and tech, where both seek to avoid relying on China," said The Economist.

"India is an American strategic partner that mistrusts the West, is unlikely ever to enter a formal alliance with America and is attached to Russia, which supplies it with arms. It is not clear how much support, if push came to shove, America could expect from India," the newspaper added.