US, Russia, China… Where does India stand? | DW News

In his very first state visit to the United States, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be greeted with fanfare, as the US attempts to woo the South Asian superpower to help counter rising Chinese assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific. With the warmest of welcomes expected for Modi – it’s hard to imagine that once upon a time, Modi was denied entry to the US, over allegations he failed to stop deadly riots in the state of Gujarat, where he was chief minister. But a newly confident India and an increasingly pragmatic US see benefits to a closer relationship – not least of which is the diversification of India’s weapons supplies away from Russia. And defense deals, technology transfer agreements, and economic investment appear to be the way into New Delhi’s heart. But larger questions still loom over the US-India relationship. There is the issue of democratic backsliding in India – and how India has failed to join the US and its allies in condemning Russia over its invasion in Ukraine. But Modi’s state visit is symbolic of a longer-term bet that Washington is making. DW’s Washington correspondent Janelle interviews sits down with Irfan Nooruddin, a professor at the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University, who says closer relations between the US and India are a good thing – but there are downsides too, for the wider world.