India-U.S. relations: The blossoming of an indispensable partnership

With strong and great leadership in the two countries and convergence of values and interests, the India-US bilateral relationship will scale greater heights in the coming years

Former US diplomat Dennis Kux stated that the US and India share several common values and ideologies such as holding regular free and fair elections, freedom of speech, expression, media, religion, pluralism, free trade, and so on.

India and US’s relationship has been termed as natural allies representing a significant improvement in the status of ties. In his address to the joint session of the Indian Parliament on his visit in 2010, then-US President Barack Obama characterised the bilateral relationship as a defining partnership of the 21st century. In 2016, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi referred to the relationship as an indispensable partnership and declared that India had overcome the hesitations of history.

Furthermore, the signing of the India-US framework civilian nuclear deal and America's heavy lifting for the grant of a special waiver by the nuclear suppliers' group to India for conducting global commerce in nuclear technology and material marked a significant improvement in relations between the two countries.

Although bilateral relations improved significantly in the decade after the visit of US President Bill Clinton to India, the ties witnessed a great ascent only after the assumption of charge by Prime Minister Modi in 2014. This was followed by Modi’s first visit as Prime Minister to the US to address the UN General Assembly and for a working visit to Washington, DC, at the invitation of President Obama.

PM Modi’s speech to the Indian community at the Madison Square Garden in New York with a full house audience of the Indian diaspora was also attended by many US governors, senators and congressmen. The positive rapport between Modi and Obama led the relationship to develop greater substance and traction. India signed the long-pending Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement and was announced as a major defence partner of the US.

Today, both PM Modi and President Biden have displayed a gracious, affable, and respectful attitude towards each other on a multitude of international platforms. Various interactions and meetings are the proof, including the sidelines of the G20 summit in Bali, Indonesia, in November 2022, the margins of the G-7 Summit in Germany, and more.

Currently, there is a convergence of values and interests between the two countries. Issues bringing the two countries together encompass the fight against terrorism, defence and intelligence-exchange partnerships, India’s large and expanding domestic market, the presence of a large and influential Indian diaspora in the US, and India’s need for capital and technology for rapid economic growth. With strong and visionary leadership in the two nations, India-US bilateral ties are expected to scale even greater heights in the coming years.