India's Modi seeks closer Trump ties with D.C. visit

India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi, left, and Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa leave after a meeting at the Necessidades Palace, the Portuguese Foreign Ministry in Lisbon, Portugal, Saturday June 24, 2017.
India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi, left, and Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa leave after a meeting at the Necessidades Palace, the Portuguese Foreign Ministry in Lisbon, Portugal, Saturday June 24, 2017.

WASHINGTON -- Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will meet for the first time with President Donald Trump at the White House on Monday, part of a two-day "no-frills" visit to the capital that will include little of the pomp of the prime minister's earlier trips during former President Barack Obama's administration.

The White House said the two leaders will seek to advance "common priorities" for the U.S.-India partnership, a list that includes fighting terrorism, promoting economic growth and expanding security cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region.

Modi's visit to Washington, which starts today, takes place amid uncertainty over the relationship because of differences on trade and other issues.

So far in his presidency, Trump has focused on outreach to China, India's strategic rival, as he looks to Beijing to rein in North Korea. But Washington and New Delhi share concerns about China's rise as a military power.

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Officials on both sides have tried to set low expectations for the meeting, casting it as a way for the two men -- who have previously spoken by phone -- to get to know each other.

Indian diplomats in Washington emphasized the commonalities between the leaders, citing Modi's business sensibilities and populist appeal. White House aides focused on something even more Trumpian.

"They are the world's most-followed political leaders on social media," a senior administration official told reporters at a background briefing on the meeting, before quickly adding: "President Trump is slightly ahead of Modi."

As of Saturday morning, Trump had 32.7 million Twitter followers, with Modi clocking in at 31 million.

"That shows the kind of leaders they are: Both are innovators; both are business executives," said the administration official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to preview the visit. "I think they'll find a lot of common ground."

Modi's goal is to create a special bond with Trump, the prime minister's aides said.

"Without chemistry, there is no physics," one Indian official said.

Modi's visit will lack the type of public display of affection that marked his visit to the Obama White House in 2014, when he and Obama visited the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial together.

But Trump aides said that Modi, after meetings with the president, will also be treated to a cocktail reception and a working dinner at the White House, the first for a foreign leader under Trump.

That official said much of the focus of the bilateral meetings would be on counterterrorism and security, noting that the administration hopes to elevate India as "a major defense partner on par with our closest allies and partners."

The United States is India's second-largest defense supplier, and a $2 billion deal for the United States to sell 22 unarmed drones to India was approved Friday, according to the drones' manufacturer.

The offer is still subject to congressional approval.

India reportedly wants the drones for surveillance of the Indian Ocean -- waters that China's navy increasingly traverses after establishing its first overseas base in the Horn of Africa nation of Djibouti. India's archrival Pakistan would also likely be opposed to the drone sale.

A congressional staff member familiar with the matter confirmed the administration has approved the sale. The staff member was not authorized to discuss the potential deal and requested anonymity.

David McKeeby, spokesman for the State Department bureau of political-military affairs, said it does not comment on proposed defense sales before Congress is formally notified.

Modi, 66, has made his reputation as a strong -- some say authoritarian -- leader who has made his country's economic progress the hallmark of his administration, trotting the globe to drum up foreign investment.

Trump has been previously bullish on the potential of India's fast-growing economy, viewing it as a good place for foreign investment. The Trump Organization has licensed the president's name to five real estate projects in India, and Trump visited Mumbai on business before becoming president.

Yet Trump has been unpredictable with New Delhi so far. He made a point to call Modi in March after his Bharatiya Janata Party garnered a key win in the populous state of Uttar Pradesh, seen as a likely bellwether for Modi's re-election hopes in 2019.

But the president also was highly critical of India and China during his speech when he announced this month that the United States would be pulling out of the Paris accord on climate change.

Trump asserted that India made its participation in the agreement contingent on "billions and billions and billions" of foreign aid.

The country's foreign minister, Sushma Swaraj, later dismissed Trump's remarks as "completely not true," and Modi has made it clear during recent meetings with European leaders that the country will stay the course on its commitment with or without the United States.

On the economy, India and U.S. bilateral trade has nearly doubled in the past decade, to $115 billion, but the trade deficit of $30 billion remains a matter of concern.

Trump has also ordered a review of the H-1B visa program for high-skilled workers, a key priority for the Indian IT industry, with its tech workers getting an estimated 70 percent of those visas in 2015, according to a 2016 report by the Department of Homeland Security.

Information for this article was contributed by David Nakamura, Annie Gowen and Philip Ruckerof The Washington Post; and by Matthew Pennington and Vivian Salama of The Associated Press.

A Section on 06/25/2017

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