Washington, June 20: With Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on an official state visit to the US at the invitation of President Joe Biden, the bipartisan consensus in Washington on developing bilateral ties is exemplified by the invitation extended to the Indian Prime Minister by the leaders of both houses of the US Congress to address a joint session of Congress for the second time. It is an honor previously bestowed only on a few leaders, including Winston Churchill, Nelson Mandela and Israeli Prime Ministers Binyamin Netanyahu and Yitzhak Rabin.

Prime Minister Modi first addressed the Congress joint meeting on June 8, 2016.

At the heart of the Indo-US strategic partnership is deepening economic engagement and a determination on both sides to elevate the bilateral relationship to a “global strategic partnership”. While the relationship was founded on shared democratic values ​​and growing interest in regional and global issues, 25 years ago, India was under US sanctions, the progress in the bilateral relationship today is remarkable.

Modi’s visit comes at a time when the US has emerged as India’s largest trading partner, with trade between the two countries touching $191 billion. For India, the favorable balance of trade position with the US is comforting as the US has an unfavorable balance of trade balance with its other major trading partners. India is the ninth largest trading partner of the US.

US companies have invested about $60 billion in India in sectors ranging from manufacturing to telecommunications and consumer goods to aerospace. As Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said in his speech at the US-India Business Council’s (USIBC) annual India Ideas Summit on June 12, investments of more than $40 billion by Indian companies in sectors such as IT, pharmaceuticals and green energy “create 425,000 jobs from California to Georgia. He said that they have contributed to the opportunities.

In February, Air India announced the purchase of 200 Boeing jets, a historic deal that President Biden said would “create more than a million American jobs in 44 states” and could be a centerpiece of his re-election campaign. .

At the USIBC event, Antony Blinken said PM Modi’s visit would “further cement what President Biden called the ‘transparent relationship’ of the 21st century”.

Much of the broader subtext of the relationship is strategic, with both partners developing negotiations with an eye on China. Central to this collaboration is a post-pandemic consensus on diversifying and deepening supply chains with trusted countries while reducing strategic dependencies. The two governments are following more than 50 bilateral dialogue mechanisms at various levels.-Agencies