Getting pally: Obama, Modi to put upbeat face on U.S.-India ties

In a display of intercontinental unity, President Barack Obama and India’s new Prime Minister Narendra Modi are joining together to put an optimistic face on the future of relations between India and the United States, amid lingering concerns that the close ties the two democracies once enjoyed have lost their luster. An Oval Office meeting Tuesday with Obama and Vice President Joe Biden was to be the centerpiece of Modi’s two-day visit to the White House, where the Indian leader was to be greeted with a formal arrival ceremony outside the West Wing. The previous evening, Obama hosted his Indian counterpart for a private dinner — despite the fact that Modi, a devout Hindu, was fasting.

Whether it’s security and counterterrorism or strengthening the economy or a host of other regional issues, there is a broad framework where India and the U.S. work closely together to advance our shared interests.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest

Typically, visiting heads of state spend just a portion of a day at the White House meeting with Obama and other U.S. leaders. The rare second day of attention from Obama underscored the White House’s desire to give a warm welcome to the man who was once barred from even entering the U.S. Modi was also to attend a State Department lunch Tuesday with Biden and Secretary of State John Kerry. During their talks, Obama and Modi will focus on economic growth and cooperation on security, clean energy, climate change and other issues, the White House said. They will also address regional concerns, including Afghanistan, where the U.S. is winding down its 13-year military involvement, plus U.S.-led efforts to combat Islamic State extremists in Syria and Iraq.

He’s gone in just a matter of a few months from persona non grata to person of honor to be received warmly in the Oval Office.

Milan Vaishnav, who studies South Asia at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, a Washington think tank

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