US President Joe Biden on Thursday hailed a “defining partnership” with India as he rolled out the red carpet for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, sealing major defence and technology deals as Washington bets big on New Delhi as a counterweight to China. Modi is being feted with the pomp of a state visit, only the third of Biden’s presidency, in a calculated show of full-throated US support — despite quiet unease over India’s refusal to break with Russia and what rights groups see as growing authoritarianism by the Hindu nationalist leader.
With around 7,000 Indian-Americans gathered on the White House’s South Lawn to cheer him on, Modi, sporting a flowing white kurta with a sky-blue jacket, walked a red carpet to a military salute as Biden welcomed him. “I have long believed that the relationship between the US and India will be one of the most defining relationships of the 21st century,” Biden said. “The challenges and opportunities facing the world in this century require that India and the United States work and lead together,” he said.Modi, India’s most powerful prime minister in decades, said that the two countries “are committed to working together for the global good and for global peace, stability, and prosperity.”..
Source: dawn.com/news
Monday, April 27, 2026
