Military, technological cooperation on cards, says American envoy Eric Garcetti ahead of PM Modi's US visit

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during his official state visit to the United States this month, is likely to discuss ways to further deepen cooperation in areas like defence and technology, US Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti, said in an interview with India Today.

PM Modi is visiting the US from June 21-24 at the invitation of US President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden. They will host Modi at a state dinner on June 22. The visit also includes an address to the Joint Session of the Congress on June 22.    

"We've been deepening our military cooperation, whether that's defense production, our technologies, our training. All of that is a really important piece of deterring bad actors but also strengthening our own defense in the Indo-Pacific region," Garcetti told Rahul Kanwal, News Director, India Today and Aaj Tak, while speaking about the key announcements that are likely to be made.

Garcetti also called PM Modi's state visit 'historic' and said it comes at a historic time. He said the visit will see agreements on climate and education.

Moreover, he added that the meeting will focus on fewer wait times for folks who are looking to travel to the United States, including students. Just a few days back, top US lawmakers had urged the Biden administration to address the visa wait time issue in the country on a priority basis. India continues to face the longest wait times globally with average wait times for an appointment for the first time B1-B2 applicant ranging between 450 and 600 days.

Garcetti also spoke on the India-US ties in the context of deepening tensions with China. "I think that we see our relationship not based on any third party and I know India wants to have more peaceful relations with China. The United States wants to have more peaceful relations with China," he said, further adding that India and the US will be "there for each other in times of need". 

On Tuesday, National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval and his visiting American counterpart Jake Sullivan unveiled an ambitious roadmap for Indo-US collaboration in seven specific high-technology areas, including semiconductors, next-generation telecommunication, artificial intelligence and defence.

The roadmap was announced at the second Track-1.5 dialogue on the initiative on Critical and Emerging Technologies (iCET) that was organised by industry chamber CII. Doval and Sullivan, who was on a two-day visit to India, also held restricted talks covering a number of bilateral and regional issues.

Modi will address an invitation-only gathering of diaspora leaders from across the country at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington on June 23.

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