Trump to Host Indian Prime Minister Modi at White House

President Donald Trump (R) and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi wave at the crowd during the "Namaste Trump" rally at Sardar Patel Stadium in Motera, on the outskirts of Ahmedabad, India, on Feb. 24, 2020. Money Sharma/AFP via Getty Images

WASHINGTON—President Donald Trump will host Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday at the White House.

This will be the first meeting between the two leaders since Trump returned to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue last month.

Conversations will include defense, trade, energy, infrastructure, and regional partnerships, among other things, a senior administration official told reporters on Feb. 13.

“We envision a stronger defense partnership,“ the official said. ”We have the ability to literally power the Indian economy with U.S. energy sales.”

Trade is expected to be a key topic of discussion as the Trump administration prepares to impose reciprocal tariff measures on many countries, including India.

Trump is expected to push India to buy more U.S. goods during the meeting.

“The U.S. does have a 2-to-1 goods trade deficit with India,” Richard Rossow, a senior adviser and chair of India and emerging Asia economics at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, wrote in a recent note.

“India has relatively high trade barriers which were significantly increased during the Modi government’s first term. However, India faces similar—but greater—pressures to improve its own manufacturing sector.”

Developing a technology partnership that facilitates the production of semiconductors and improves supply chain resiliency is a priority for the Trump administration to ensure that “critical supply chains and technologies cannot be weaponized,” according to the senior official.

A bilateral trade agreement is expected in the current calendar year that includes new defense procurement and bolsters India’s national security while helping balance the U.S. trade deficit.

To further security efforts, the leaders will strengthen the Quad partnership—which includes the United States, India, Japan, and Australia—“to build stability and peace across the Indo-Pacific region.”

Diplomatic relationships that India maintains with European nations and others around the globe could also prove beneficial to negotiating an end to the Russia–Ukraine war.

India has one of the world’s largest reserves of rare earth elements, offering a valuable opportunity for the United States to reduce its dependence on China.

Countering China via a partnership between the United States and India is a “core part of our national security focus and our approach” that involves a host of economic and geopolitical elements, according to the White House official, who called the relationship between the United States and India “one of the most critical, if not the most critical, bilateral relationships in the 21st century.”

Since taking office on Jan. 20, Trump has hosted a series of world leaders, with Modi set to be the fourth to visit the White House.