US President Joe Biden will receive Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on June 22 for a state visit, the most solemn form of reception at the White House, his spokeswoman said Wednesday.
The visit should "highlight the deep and close partnership between the United States and India," said Karine Jean-Pierre in a statement, as well as "the warm ties of family and friendship" between the two countries.
Evoking China's influence
The event must also "strengthen the shared commitment of our two countries to a free, open, prosperous and secure Indo-Pacific," the spokeswoman wrote. This formula is, for the Americans, a way of evoking without naming it the growing regional influence of China, which they promise to counter.
The statement did not mention Ukraine, a sensitive subject if ever there was one: India, Russia's long-time military ally, called for an end to hostilities in Ukraine, but never condemned the Russian invasion. A state visit is the highest degree of protocol for the visit of a head of state.
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Under Joe Biden, French President Emmanuel Macron was the first to be entitled to this particularly solemn treatment, between military honors and gala dinner, before, more recently, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol.
Narendra Modi had already come to the White House in September 2021, but as part of a broader meeting, that of the Quad, the alliance that brings together the United States, India, Japan and Australia. This will be the first state visit to Washington by the Hindu nationalist prime minister since he took office a decade ago.
Narendra Modi, criticized by the UN for his human rights record, is nonetheless a leader much courted by the West. For example, he will be the guest of honor at the military parade on July 14 in Paris, the day of the French national holiday.