In a landmark deal on February 13, US President Donald Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi agreed to let the US become the number one oil and gas supplier to India, replacing Russia.
Nikkei reported that at a joint press conference after the talks at the White House, President Trump emphasized that the world's largest economy and most populous country will cooperate to ensure "fairness and balance" in bilateral trade relations. He also pointed to the US trade deficit with India, reaching 45.6 billion USD by 2024, and affirmed that oil and gas exports will help narrow this gap.
"Prime Minister Modi and I have reached an important energy deal, which will help the US regain its position as a leading oil and gas exporter to India, and hopefully become number one," Trump said.
Currently, Russia is the largest oil supplier to India, followed by Iraq, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, while the US is only fifth. With the new deal, Washington will increase oil exports to New Delhi, contributing to weakening Russia's oil dominance in the energy market of this South Asian country.
In addition to energy, the US has also pledged to increase arms sales to India with a value of "over tens of billions of USD" this year. In particular, the US will gradually pave the way to provide the fifth-generation F-35 stealth fighter to India. This is a notable move as Washington had previously left Turkey out of the program because Turkey had purchased Russia's S-400 air defense system.
Currently, India also owns Russia's S-400 system, but the deal with the US could signal a military shift.
Also during his visit to the US, Prime Minister Modi emphasized the goal of doubling bilateral trade to 500 billion USD by 2030.
"Our negotiating groups will soon complete a mutually beneficial bilateral trade agreement. To ensure energy security, India will focus on importing oil and gas from the US," Mr. Modi said.
Mr. Modi also pledged to cooperate more closely with the US to maintain peace, stability and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region. "The Four Ministries (Quad) will play a special role in this," Mr. Modi affirmed, referring to the strategic alliance between the US, India, Japan and Australia. The four-mental summit scheduled to take place in India later this year will expand cooperation in many fields.
The US Congress Research Service (CRS) said many observers believe that India is the "most important rotating country in the world" and that the US-India relationship will have a great impact on global order in the 21st century.
Although it still maintains military relations with Russia, India is gradually prioritizing defense technology from the US. "We will expand defense cooperation with India to ensure they prioritize the use of US technology," a Trump administration official said.
