Modi & Biden's Unprecedented Defense & Technology Deals Intended To Lure India From Russia

A lot has come out of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to meet with President Biden at the White House on Thursday, seen also in the very lengthy 58-point joint statement put out by the countries, which runs into many dozens of pages.

First, both sides reached agreement on terminating six outstanding disputes at the World Trade Organization, while India also agreed to remove retaliatory tariffs on some US products, among them chickpeas, lentils, and other goods, according to a statement.

But more interesting are the deals which greatly expand on technology and defense cooperation, given that looming large in the background is the US desire to lure India away from closeness with China and Russia. 

The section of the readout focusing on defense, technology, and space partnership spans multiple pages. The Wall Street Journal has commented that some of the deals are intended to wean New Delhi off Russian arms purchases in particular.

"India is set to buy state-of-the-art U.S. drones and jointly produce jet-fighter engines in a multibillion-dollar deal designed to wean New Delhi off arms purchases from Russia," WSJ wrote Thursday.

Until now, "Washington was reluctant until now to share such sensitive technology because of India’s past, and continuing, purchases of Russian military gear," the newspaper continued.

"The U.S. and India are also discussing strengthening ties between their militaries, including in logistics and intelligence-sharing, Pentagon officials said," the report said.

"U.S. ships could more frequently call at Indian ports, and the two militaries could hold more joint exercises, for example," WSJ noted.

Both on the White House lawn, where an estimated 7,000 mostly Indian-Americans chanted Modi's name, and at the state dinner in his honor, the prime minister enjoyed rock star status.