Seizing the Modi Moment: Reenergizing U.S.-India Ties on the Eve of the Prime Minister’s Visit

CNAS President Richard Fontaine offers an agenda of deepened strategic ties between the United States and India in anticipation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the United States in late September. In the brief, Mr. Fontaine describes Prime Minister Modi’s historic victory in India’s recent elections and his sweeping mandate for reform. Modi’s upcoming visit, Mr. Fontaine argues, presents an opportunity for movement on key issues in the U.S.-India relationship. But realism, not romanticism, should characterize relations between the two countries. The United States and India should pursue an ambitious but realistic agenda of deepened political, economic and security ties that would reflect the importance of the strategic partnership and reverberate in the Indo-Pacific region and beyond.