2023-06-20 07:10:00
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the relationship between India and the United States is stronger and deeper than ever before. At a time of turmoil in the geopolitical landscape, India is acting in hopes of taking the place it believes it deserves on the world stage.
In an interview ahead of his first official state visit to the United States in nine years in office, Modi said there was an unprecedented level of trust between American and Indian leaders. Modi hailed the growing defense cooperation between India and the United States as “an important pillar of our partnership,” which he said extended to trade, technology and energy.
Modi is expected in Washington this week to finalize a deal to manufacture engines in India for an advanced light fighter jet and a multibillion-dollar deal to buy Predator high-altitude armed drones from the United States to Increased aerial reconnaissance over the Indian Ocean and near the disputed India-China border in the Himalayas.
India stands to benefit as the West confronts Russia and increasingly China. The United States has already wooed India, hoping that India can become a strategic balancing force to contain China. The United States has moved to deepen defense ties with India, even as India buys Russian oil in bulk at low prices to finance Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Modi has given many speeches but few press conferences and interviews. In an hour-long interview with The Wall Street Journal in his office at his sprawling official residence in central New Delhi, Modi talked about India’s foreign policy and its efforts to build a more modern and sustainable economic efforts, and a range of other topics.
Overall, Modi’s message is that from India’s role in global politics to its contribution to the world economy, India’s time has come. He sought to portray India as the natural leader of the global south, with a deep understanding of and the ability to speak out for the long-neglected aspirations of the developing world.
“India’s status and role should be higher, deeper and wider,” Modi said, wearing a yellow kotai and a light brown jacket. As he spoke, several peacocks croaked in the garden outside.
The 72-year-old leader called on the United Nations and other international organizations to adjust to an increasingly multipolar world order and to represent more broadly the world’s less wealthy nations and their priorities, including the consequences of climate change and Debt reduction, etc.
Unlike the nonaligned vision of former Indian leader Jawaharlal Nehru in the early days of the Cold War, Modi’s foreign policy is one of multidirectional alignment, seeking to advance India’s interests in partnership with a range of global powers, Including those countries that are in conflict with each other.
Modi is one of India’s most popular prime ministers. He and his Bharatiya Janata Party won national elections by a wide margin in 2014 and 2019. Modi currently enjoys high approval ratings ahead of national elections next year.
Political opponents and human rights advocates have accused Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party of fueling religious polarization and democratic regression, including by curbing the media and revoking special status for Indian-administered Kashmir to bring the Muslim-majority region closer together India. The BJP is rooted in Hindu nationalism.
India not only tolerates but celebrates its diversity, Modi said.
“For thousands of years, India has been a place where people of all faiths and beliefs have lived together in freedom, peace and prosperity,” he said in a statement. “You will find people of all faiths in the world living in harmony in India.”
On the economy, Modi has won praise for eliminating bureaucracy, easing regulations and paving the way for increased foreign direct investment. India has surpassed China to become the most populous country in the world. What’s more, India’s relatively young population is expected to bring a huge demographic dividend.
The Indian government has invested heavily in education and infrastructure and is set to benefit as multinationals seek to diversify their manufacturing and supply chains amid geopolitical tensions.
Apple ( AAPL ) is among the companies making big new investments in southern India, with Apple supplier Foxconn Technology Group planning new facilities in Karnataka and Telangana states and expanding operations in Thailand. iPhone production in Milnadu.
“Let me make it clear that we don’t think India will replace any country. We see the process as India taking its rightful place in the world,” Modi said. “Today’s world is more interconnected and interdependent than ever before. To generate resilience, supply chains should be more diverse.”
One thing India and the United States have in common is that relations with China have become increasingly tense in recent years, characterized by deepening military and economic competition. For India, the challenge looms, with heightened tensions largely centered on a decades-old dispute over the more than 2,000-mile border between China and India, known as the Line of Actual Control. Since deadly clashes in the Himalayas in 2020, the two countries have been building infrastructure and deploying more troops in the region.
Indian officials have accused China of violating the border agreement, and since 2020 the two countries have held 18 rounds of military talks aimed at preventing the dispute from turning into a wider conflict.
“In order to have normal bilateral relations with China, peace and tranquility in the border areas are of utmost importance,” Modi said. “Our core beliefs are to respect sovereignty and territorial integrity, abide by the rule of law, and resolve differences and disputes peacefully. At the same time, India is fully prepared and committed to protecting its sovereignty and dignity.”
China’s Ministry of Defense did not respond to a request for comment via the State Council Information Office.
In strengthening ties with the United States, the Indian government has had to overcome deep-seated suspicions of the United States dating back to the Cold War, when the United States forged closer ties with the Soviet Union after the United States refused to supply India with arms in 1965. The US then became a military backer of India’s neighbor and rival Pakistan.
India’s relationship with the United States has strengthened in recent years, partly because of economic cooperation. Indo-US trade will reach a record $191 billion in 2022, with the US becoming India’s largest trading partner. The US is India’s third largest source of foreign direct investment and one of the top five destinations for Indian investment.
At the same time, India also continues to maintain a close relationship with Russia. About 50% of India’s military material purchases still come from Russia, including weapons, ammunition, tanks, jet fighters and S-400 air defense systems. The U.S. has pressured India to reduce its reliance on Russian weapons, and some in the U.S. have criticized Modi’s government for not taking a more forceful critical stance against Russia’s incursion into Ukraine. India abstained in a UN vote condemning the Russian invasion.
When it comes to outside criticism of India’s position on Russia, Modi said, “I don’t think this view exists widely in the United States.” He said: “I think India’s position is well known and fully understood throughout the world. The world Fully aware that India is very peace-oriented.”
Referring to the conflict in Ukraine, Modi said: “Some people say we are neutral. But we are not neutral. We are on the side of peace.” He said: “All countries should respect international law and national sovereignty. Disputes should be resolved through diplomacy and dialogue, not war, Modi said.
Modi said he had spoken several times with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. He said the last time he spoke to Zelensky was during the Group of Seven summit in Japan in May. Modi said India will do its part and support all sincere efforts aimed at ending the conflict and ensuring lasting peace and stability.
Modi argued that many of the world’s problems, such as terrorism, proxy wars and expansionism, were linked to the failure of global institutions created during the Cold War to adapt, saying that in the resulting vacuum, smaller and regional group. Modi said global institutions like the United Nations must undergo change.
“Look at the members of the major institutions — do these members really represent the voice of democratic values?” he said. “A place like Africa, does it have a voice? India has such a large population and is a bright spot in the global economy, but does it have a presence?”
He hinted that India wanted access to the UN Security Council, noting that India has contributed troops to peacekeeping operations around the world. He said that the current membership of the Security Council must be assessed and it should be asked whether the world wants India in the Council.
Modi has often compared his own rise to India’s rise. Born in a small town in the country’s western state of Gujarat three years after India’s independence, Modi recalled working at his family’s tea stall as a child.
He started his career in politics after joining the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), an organization closely associated with Hindu nationalist causes. His work with the group and later the BJP caught the attention of BJP Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who promoted him to chief minister of Gujarat in 2001.
As a politician, Modi usually provokes fierce emotions from supporters and opponents, but no one disputes his illustrious rise from his own tea stall to India’s prime minister.
Modi was denied a visa to enter the United States following riots in Gujarat in 2002 that killed more than 1,000 people, mostly Muslims. In 2012, an investigative panel appointed by India’s Supreme Court said it found no evidence of wrongdoing by Modi. After Modi was elected prime minister in 2014, the United States said it would grant him a visa to visit the United States.
That year, Modi delivered a speech in Hindi at Madison Square Garden to a jubilant crowd of more than 18,000 who chanted his name. Modi has visited the U.S. several times in the years since, including addressing a joint session of Congress in 2016 and a “Hello, Modi!” rally with then-President Trump in Houston in 2019 . He will return to the United States this week for an official state visit.
There is also an atmosphere in India that the country’s moment to shine on the global stage has arrived. In the Indian capital, Modi’s image has appeared on billboards promoting the Group of 20, or G20, some bearing the theme India picked for its G20 presidency: “One Earth, One home, one future”.
“I am the first prime minister born in a free India,” Modi said. “That’s why my thought process, my actions, my words and deeds are inspired and influenced by my country’s identity and heritage. I draw strength from it.”
“I’m showing the world the real India, and the real me,” he said.
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