Joe Biden and Modi are certainly putting in the time to cultivate

President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Narendra Modi are certainly putting in the time to cultivate their relationship. Less than three months after honoring Modi with a state visit to the White House, Biden is to arrive in New Delhi on Friday — a day before the start of the Group of 20 summit there — to squeeze in another round of one-on-one talks with the leader of the world’s most populous nation. There have been more than a dozen in-person or virtual engagements between the leaders since 2021 as both have looked to tighten the partnership amid shared major concerns. Those include an increasingly assertive China and monumental challenges posed by climate change, artificial intelligence, global supply chain resilience and other issues. Modi has heavily branded the summit as his own. The Indian prime minister has pictures of himself posted along the highway from the airport, greeting G20 delegates with quotes about the need to address climate change. As a result, Biden will be something of a houseguest when he meets with his Indian counterpart. Biden and Narendra Modi look to tighten US-India ties as concerns rise over China The leaders have looked to tighten the partnership amid shared concerns over an increasingly assertive China, climate change, artificial intelligence and global supply chains. “This meeting will be taking place at the prime minister’s residence — so it is unusual in that respect,” White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters aboard Air Force One. “This is not your typical bilateral visit to India with meetings taking place in the prime minister’s office.” Biden, a center-left Democrat, and Modi, a conservative Hindu nationalist, are hardly ideological soulmates. Yet, both leaders are increasingly drawn together by China’s military and economic maneuverings.