What experts are saying about Modi's US, Egypt visit

Prime Minister Narendra Modi returned to India in the early hours of Monday, June 26, 2023, after his six-day visit to the US and Egypt. Experts have criticised the visit and said that not much has been accomplished by it.

Modi arrived in Cairo on Saturday after concluding his state visit to the US. He concluded his first-ever visit to Egypt Sunday evening. During the visit, he held talks with President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and was conferred the 'Order of the Nile'.

On Modi being conferred the 'Order of the Nile' from the Egyptian government, Ashok Swain pointed out that its former recipient was Ziaur Rahman of Bangladesh "Rehman had also received the same one from Egypt. Bangladeshi PM Hasina says Ziaur Rahman was involved in her father, Sheikh Mujib's assassination," he has said.

A recent essay by the veteran India hand Ashley J. Tellis in Foreign Affairs titled, “America’s Bad Bet on India”, warns that there are limits to US-India cooperation and Washington would be wise to wake up to them.

“India will side with the US in any confrontation that we are engaged in with respect to China. But I think it is unlikely that India will involve itself militarily, short of any direct Chinese threats to India itself.

“I think the distinction needs to be appreciated between support for the US and military involvement in a US-led campaign against China. I think India will do the former; I think it will not do the latter. But a priori, it is not an unreasonable expectation to say that India will sit out active military involvement,” he concluded.

India’s former National Security Adviser Shivshankar Menon, while speaking to The Wire on the India-US joint statement, has said, "China is the glue. Both sides are increasingly bothered by China's rise. Responding to Tellis, he has said, "India and US are not entering a defense alliance. India is not committed to defending the US and vice versa. We are not an ally."

Writing for The Time Magazine, Knox Thames, who served as the state department special advisor for religious minorities during both the Obama and Trump administrations, has said, "Modi has been lukewarm at best regarding support for Ukraine. During the White House press conference, Modi could only vaguely speak of ending the dispute through dialogue and diplomacy. There was no joint condemnation of Russian aggression, a low bar to meet."

"Consequently, to counter India’s drift away from shared values, the U.S. must decide to visibly support Indian civil society, publicly discuss our concerns, and establish consequences for abuses," he added.

Four agreements were signed during PM Modi's visit to Egypt. Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra has announced that one of them was strategic partnership between India and Egypt, signed by Prime Minister Modi and President El Sisi of Egypt.”

PM Modi and US President biden also released a joint statement, which charts the roadmap for the future of the US-India relationship.