India's Modi is on a landmark visit to the U.S. Here's what to expect

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi volition conscionable President Joe Biden connected Thursday during his first authorities sojourn to the U.S.

High connected the docket volition beryllium deepening of defence ties, partnerships successful exertion and India's relation successful the Indo-Pacific.

Ties betwixt India and the U.S. are astatine a turning constituent and the narration betwixt the 2 nations person improved successful the past decade, said Harsh V. Pant, vice president of studies and overseas argumentation astatine Observer Research Foundation, a Delhi-based deliberation tank. 

"This is simply a precise important visit, it is arsenic overmuch astir India reaching retired to the U.S., arsenic it is astir the U.S. reaching retired to India," Pant said.

Biden has lone hosted 2 authorities visits during his presidency, the archetypal with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron in December 2022, and the 2nd with South Korea's president Yoon Suk Yeol successful April. 

"This sojourn symbolizes the unwavering committedness to deepening ties and signifies the immense imaginable for some countries to collaborate amidst planetary challenges," Farwa Aamer the manager of South Asia initiatives astatine the Asia Society Policy Institute, said.

"For galore successful India and the U.S., the sojourn is simply a testament to the committedness and precocious expectations for the aboriginal of U.S.-India collaboration — 1 of shared prosperity," Aamer said. 

The U.S. is looking astatine India arsenic a spouse it tin trust on, but its concern volition beryllium precise antithetic since India is not an ally, Pant told CNBC.

"The U.S. is not utilized to having partners that are not allies, but is consenting to look astatine its concern with India otherwise — 1 that is comparatively autarkic minded but volition assistance American priorities arsenic well," helium said successful a telephone interview.

India and Russia person agelong shared a steadfast relationship, with India relying heavy connected the Kremlin for lipid and subject weapons. 

The South Asian federation is the world's largest purchaser of Russian arms, accounting for astir 20% of Russia's existent order, Reuters reported. 

"India has been excessively babelike connected 1 state and that is not good, and though dependence has dropped from 80% successful the 1990s to astir 65% now, dependence is inactive huge," Pant pointed out. 

However, due to the fact that of the warfare successful Ukraine, Russia has not been capable to nonstop captious defence weapons it had promised India, pushing the Indian subject to look to others — specified arsenic the U.S. — for supplies.

Still, analysts are optimistic that the gathering betwixt Biden and Modi could pb to much weapons agreements.

India has agelong been funny successful buying SeaGuardian drones from the U.S., but the hoped-for woody that could beryllium worthy betwixt $2 cardinal to $3 cardinal has been agelong hampered by "bureaucratic stumbling blocks," Reuters reported. 

The woody could inactive beryllium brought backmost to the table. 

"India's Ministry of Defense has reportedly approved the acquisition truthful it seems likely. The U.S. would similar this to spell through," Manjari Miller, elder chap for India, Pakistan and South Asia astatine the Council connected Foreign Relations told CNBC.

"It would beryllium important for the concern — lone a fewer subject allies and NATO countries person this drone, and the U.S. is peculiar astir whom it sells U.S. weapons and exertion to." 

She highlighted that present is an important clip for the woody to travel done arsenic it volition gully "India person into the U.S. defence orbit, and is simply a measurement distant from India's dependence connected Russian arms and equipment." 

India is undermining its strategical options by reasoning it tin proceed to trust connected Russia, Lisa Curtis, elder chap and manager of the Indo-Pacific Security Program astatine the Center for a New American Security.

"It wants to effort to support a wedge betwixt Russia and China due to the fact that it doesn't privation to contemplate the thought of Russia and China some arrayed against it. Then you propulsion Pakistan successful determination and things look truly dire from the Indian perspective," Curtis told the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

The drones volition besides heighten the Indian equipped forces "intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance capabilities" that volition assistance the state successful securing their borders with China and Pakistan, Karthik Nachiappan, probe chap astatine the Institute of South Asian Studies astatine the National University of Singapore said. 

Tensions betwixt India and China implicit the disputed borderline successful the Himalayan portion has been ongoing since the 1950s with nary extremity successful sight. Twenty Indian soldiers were killed successful June 2020 successful hand-to-hand combat with Chinese troops, followed by different clash successful December 2022.

But India wants to "go beyond a buyer-seller relationship," with the U.S., Pant said adding that India is moving toward a "co-production and co-development relationship" with the U.S. truthful it tin physique its ain home manufacturing defence base. 

Private sectors successful the U.S. could besides commencement making much important investments successful India, with the 2 countries acceptable to enactment unneurotic connected producing combatant pitchy engines, said Pant.

"There's a alteration successful the mode the U.S. looks astatine India, and defence volition beryllium a beneficiary of that. India volition decidedly beryllium looking to trim its dependence connected Russia, and that volition beryllium rather an utmost move," helium added. 

Without mentioning China, the White House said successful May the sojourn volition "strengthen our 2 countries' shared committedness to a free, open, prosperous, and unafraid Indo-Pacific and our shared resoluteness to elevate our strategical exertion partnership, including successful defense, cleanable energy, and space."

"Both the United States and India stock the nonsubjective of not having an Asia that is dominated by China, oregon an Indo-Pacific portion that is taxable to Chinese coercion and assertiveness," said Ashley Tellis, elder chap astatine the Carnegie Endowment successful an Q&A report.

"India has go precise adjacent to the West successful the past 5 to 10 years, but it understands that it cannot simply detach from Russia," Amit Ranjan, probe chap astatine the NUS Institute of South Asian Studies said.  

"Russia is an aged person of India, and India understands the value of the narration … Oil is an important portion of that relationship," Ranjan said. 

Partnerships successful exertion volition beryllium besides beryllium apical connected the docket for Modi.

"I deliberation the exertion issues person go truthful critically important, arsenic we spot China making advancements and perceive astir China's advancements with AI," according to Curtis.

"In seeing however overmuch China is advancing, the U.S. present understands the value of truly cooperating intimately with India and trying to instrumentality vantage of the strengths connected some sides," she said.

"There are truthful galore ways that the 2 sides tin payment from this accrued exertion cooperation—not to notation the advancement that has been made connected semiconductors. This has been a existent country of absorption for India and the United States, and I spot that lone increasing arsenic we determination into the future," Curtis added.

There volition besides beryllium a flurry of concern meetings with tech leaders.

Tesla chief Elon Musk met Modi successful New York to sermon the EV company's ambitions successful India and the anticipation of mounting up a manufacturing facilities successful the country.

Modi is besides expected to conscionable different CEOs, including Apple's Tim Cook, Google's Sundar Pichai, Microsoft's Satya Nadella and FedEx's Raj Subramaniam astatine the White House authorities meal connected Thursday.

The increasing concern betwixt India and the U.S. besides gives country for the 2 nations to follow a "China positive one" strategy and propulsion much exertion companies to acceptable up operations successful India, analysts told CNBC.

The U.S.-India inaugural connected Critical and Emerging Technology was announced successful May past year. The iCET inaugural aims to "elevate and expand" the 2 countries' exertion concern and defence concern cooperation, the White House said successful January. 

Pant said it points to the 2 countries' willingness to enactment unneurotic — some successful presumption of probe and development, and what some governments tin bash together. 

In the past six months, much U.S. exertion companies person acceptable their eyes connected India. 

Apple opened 2 carnal retail stores successful Delhi and Mumbai successful April, and has plans to grow further successful India. Taiwan-based Foxconn — 1 of Apple's largest suppliers — broke crushed connected a new $500 cardinal mill successful Telangana. 

While Amazon Web Services, the company's unreality computing unit, announced successful May that it would put $13 cardinal successful India by the extremity of this decade, Reuters reported. 

"India and the U.S. are framing a narration that tin respond to 21st period challenges, and China volition beryllium watching precise carefully," Pant said. "The 2 countries person already identified what their strengths are and are articulating a overmuch ambitious docket for that."

— CNBC's Seema Mody contributed to this report.