• US President Joe Biden wants to strengthen connections with India.
• The Biden administration is in talks with Indian officials over a possible White House visit by PM Modi.
• According to the sources, no dates have been set.

Washington: The Biden administration is in talks with Indian officials over a possible White House visit by Prime Minister Narendra Modi later this year, according to a U.S. official aware of the discussions and another person briefed on the matter.

US President Joe Biden wants to strengthen connections with the world’s largest democracy as part of his quest to win what he sees as a struggle between free and autocratic civilizations, particularly China.

The Indian Embassy in Washington and the White House both declined to comment.

According to the sources, no dates have been set. Indian National Security Adviser Ajit Doval met with his US counterpart, Jake Sullivan, and Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Washington this week to discuss a prospective White House visit.

During the visit, the US and India announced cooperation to strengthen ties in the areas of military equipment, semiconductors, and artificial intelligence.

New Delhi has irritated Washington by taking part in military drills with Russia and expanding purchases of the country’s crude oil, which is a major source of funding for the Ukrainian war. Washington has pressed New Delhi to do more to penalise Russia for the invasion of Ukraine.

On Wednesday, India recommended increasing military spending for the coming year by 13% to $72.6 billion in order to deploy additional fighter jets and roads along its contentious border with China. India and China share a contentious 2,100-mile (3,400-kilometer) border since the 1950s.

The US president is likely to travel to New Delhi in September for the G20 summit hosted by India.

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