Manoj Joshi's column: Modi's meeting with Trump is important for both countries

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will travel to America next week. He has been invited by Donald Trump. Modi will be among the few leaders who have been invited to the US after Trump's coronation. This reflects the Trump administration's interest in enhancing relationships with these leaders. Not surprisingly, the first foreign leader Trump met was Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He will then meet King Abdullah of Jordan. In his meeting with Abdullah, Trump is expected to discuss his bizarre plan to redevelop the Gaza Strip. This will be followed by Modi, who has enjoyed friendly relations with Trump since his first term. However, Modi was not present at Trump's inauguration ceremony. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Malonei and Argentine President Havier Mailey were also present. Chinese President Xi Jinping was also invited, but he sent Vice President Han Zheng as his representative. Instead of Modi, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar was invited to the event and was seated in the front row opposite Trump. It was no coincidence. Jaishankar has met top officials of the Trump administration to prepare the ground for Modi's visit. He also indicated that India has no objection to Trump's plan to deport 18,000 illegal Indian immigrants from the US. India's stance is to push for H1B visas. These visas are issued by the US every year and 70 per cent of them are for Indians. Trump had made it clear what he would expect from Modi when they meet him next week. In his telephonic conversation with Modi, he stressed on increasing the purchase of US-made security equipment and balancing trade relations between the two countries. The two leaders also committed to advance mutual strategic cooperation and the Indo-Pacific Quad partnership. India will be hosting the Quad summit later this year and is hopeful that Trump will find time to attend it in person. India is already buying military equipment from the US, but to satisfy Trump, it will need to reduce duties on many American products. Since Modi's visit comes right after Netanyahu and Abdullah, it is possible that Trump sees some role in India in his surprise plans for the Middle East. In 2022, India joined the I2U2 group with the US, Israel and the UAE to take new initiatives in the areas of energy transportation, space, health, water and food security. India is also a partner in the India-Middle-East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC). It was announced at the 2023 G20 Summit to promote the economic integration of South Asia, the Middle East, and Europe. In this corridor, work will also be done on ports, railways, shipping networks and roads. It is to be noted that Haifa in Israel will be an important terminus of this corridor and it is being developed by the Adani Group. Rajiv Gandhi was the first Prime Minister who enthusiastically embraced relations with America. While his mother Indira Gandhi was somewhat sceptical about the United States, her attitude changed slightly after he met President Ronald Reagan in Cancun, Mexico in 1981. Rajiv had visited the US three times. In 1985, in his first year as Prime Minister, he visited the United States twice. It was under American influence that Rajiv changed India's Sri Lankan policy and approached the US in technology to pursue his vision of modern India. But the India Modi leads today is far stronger than the India of Rajiv Gandhi's time. Today, India has emerged as a major swing-state and is capable of maintaining relations with the US as well as its principal adversary Russia. New Delhi has made it clear that national interest will be the driving force of its policies. But India's determination may be tested under Trump. Since Narendra Modi's visit to the US is taking place right after Benjamin Netanyahu and King Abdullah, Trump may also see some role in India in his surprise plans for the Middle East. (This is the author's opinion)