U.S.-India Must Become Closer With Trump and Modi

As Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrives in Washington, D.C., his meeting with President Donald Trump holds the potential to reshape global geopolitics. This is not just another diplomatic visit—it is a historic moment to secure India’s rightful place as a global power. For decades, India has aspired to greater leadership in world affairs. That moment is now.

Under Trump’s leadership, India has been elevated in ways no previous U.S. administration had ever offered. Yet, rather than recognizing this monumental opportunity, some in the Indian media remain trapped in outdated grievances over trade tariffs, H-1B visas, and the deportation of illegal Indian immigrants. These issues are global policies, not India-specific concerns, and should not define Modi’s visit.

The world does not wait for hesitant nations. While some in the Indian media and political class still see India as a country seeking concessions, Trump sees India as a global partner and a pillar of stability in a chaotic world order. Instead of focusing on temporary disputes, this visit should mark a turning point in Indo-U.S. relations. Trump has placed India at the center of U.S. strategic planning, offering India a seat at the table in global security, defense, high-tech innovation, and economic leadership. If India fails to act decisively, it may never again have such a favorable leadership alignment in Washington.

India’s Strategic Elevation Under Trump

No U.S. president before Trump has given India such unprecedented prominence in American foreign policy. For decades, previous administrations treated India as secondary to China in their global strategies, despite India’s larger democracy, technological potential, and strategic location. Trump changed that.

From defense cooperation to AI, from the QUAD alliance to space exploration, India is no longer just a regional player—it is a pillar of U.S. strategic thinking. This transformation is particularly evident in the defense sector.

U.S. arms sales to India have crossed $20 billion, and India has been granted a NATO-like strategic status, allowing for faster access to military technology and intelligence-sharing. Joint military exercises have expanded dramatically, ensuring that Indian and American forces can operate seamlessly together. These are not symbolic moves—these are the foundation of a powerful Indo-U.S. military partnership that can shift the balance of power in Asia.

For years, India had to balance its military ties with both the U.S. and Russia, ensuring that deeper defense cooperation with Washington would not alienate Moscow. But with Trump and Putin signaling renewed understanding, that concern no longer holds India back. U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has made it clear that Ukraine’s NATO ambitions are not viable, a stance that suggests the U.S. is moving away from the Cold War-era hostility with Russia that many in Washington once promoted. If the U.S. no longer treats Russia as an existential adversary, India is now free to fully integrate itself into the American-led security framework without fear of retaliation from Moscow.

This shift presents India with an extraordinary opportunity. Modi must use this visit to finalize long-term defense agreements, ensuring joint military production, intelligence-sharing, and cutting-edge AI-driven defense technology collaborations. The time for caution is over—India must now assert itself as a key defense player in the Indo-Pacific region.

Beyond military cooperation, technology collaboration has also reached new heights. India is now a critical partner in AI, semiconductor manufacturing, and cybersecurity, areas where U.S.-China tensions are creating massive opportunities for India to emerge as a global technology hub. The U.S.-India Defense Acceleration Ecosystem (INDUS-X) is driving co-development of next-generation military technology, while NASA and ISRO are expanding their space collaboration. This visit must ensure that these partnerships become permanent and irreversible.

The opportunity is here. The question is whether India will seize it.

India Must Stop Wasting Energy on Minor Issues

Despite these groundbreaking developments, some in the Indian media remain obsessed with outdated grievances, ignoring the fact that India is no longer a nation that needs to beg for concessions.

The H-1B visa debate is a prime example. While Indian professionals in the U.S. have contributed to American innovation, it is time for India to move beyond the outdated mindset of depending on remittances from NRIs. That may have been necessary decades ago, but today, India’s highly skilled engineers and professionals should be leading innovation from within India, not seeking opportunities abroad.

Another misplaced grievance is the uproar over the deportation of illegal Indian immigrants from the U.S. The Trump administration’s immigration policies are not targeting Indians specifically—they are part of a broad enforcement of U.S. immigration law that applies equally to all nationalities. The Indian media’s portrayal of this as an anti-India move is misleading and counterproductive. Instead of wasting energy on complaints about illegal migrants, India should focus on legal pathways that ensure its best and brightest can contribute meaningfully to U.S.-India economic and strategic cooperation. Modi’s visit should not be about making appeals for leniency on immigration enforcement, but about negotiating high-skilled visa programs that serve the long-term interests of both nations.

The trade tariff dispute is another misplaced distraction. Trump’s tariffs are not an attack on India—they are part of a global realignment in trade policy. Many in India ignore the fact that India itself has some of the highest import duties in the world on American goods. The reality is that American tariffs are reciprocal, not punitive. Instead of treating them as an insult, India should leverage them in trade negotiations to secure better access for its own exports while ensuring long-term trade stability.

It is time for India to rise above small concerns and think like a global power. In the realm of global affairs, true respect is earned not through requests for concessions, but through the ability to engage as an equal, shaping outcomes with confidence and strategic foresight.

The BRICS Common Currency: A Reckless Proposal Modi Must Emphatically Reject

One of the most untenable ideas being floated in geopolitical circles is India's potential participation in a BRICS common currency—a move that would be not just impractical but economically self-defeating. The notion of partnering with an authoritarian China, which maintains a massive trade surplus against India, in a shared monetary system is strategically reckless. A currency union dominated by Beijing would inevitably place India in a weaker economic position, forcing it into a framework where China's financial and geopolitical leverage would dictate terms. Modi must make it emphatically clear during this visit that India has no interest in aligning itself with such a destabilizing economic model. India should instead focus on deepening trade and financial integration with like-minded, rule-of-law economies, where economic cooperation is based on fairness and mutual benefit, not coercion and imbalance.

India Must Act Like a Global Power, Not a Passive Observer

This is the moment India has waited for. If India hesitates, it may miss the biggest geopolitical opportunity of the century. But if Modi and Trump make history during this visit, they will set India and the U.S. on a path to unmatched global leadership.

If India fails to act decisively, others will step into the vacuum. China will continue to tighten its grip on Asia’s trade and security, and the U.S. will look elsewhere for reliable partners. The moment will pass, and India will be relegated to being a player, not a leader, in the global order.

The era of hesitation is over. The era of leadership begins now.

India must act. Now.

Vinson Xavier Palathingal is a leading voice on U.S.-India relations, international trade, and immigration policy, with a deep understanding of economic and strategic affairs in South Asia. As Executive Director of the Indo-American Center in Washington, D.C., he has been at the forefront of shaping policy discussions that strengthen the Indo-U.S. alliance in defense, technology, and trade.