Trump to take an India pre-election 'victory lap'

WASHINGTON and New Delhi are urgently seeking to finalise a US-India trade agreement before Donald Trump's forthcoming two-day trip. While the immediate goal for the president is enhancing bilateral relations, the important longer-term objective is doubling down on his revamped regional Indo-Pacific strategy in the face of China's growing strength.

This latest trip for Mr Trump, which follows up on Indian visits in 2019 by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, therefore has a dual purpose: it could well give the president a political victory lap in his election-year. However, the White House also senses a wider, strategic opportunity to embed US regional influence following last May's landslide re-election of Narendra Modi in the Indo-Pacific (the Trump team's preferred phrase for the massive geography spreading from the US west coast into what is commonly known as Asia-Pacific).

To be sure, there are some remaining irritants in the bilateral relationship, including US threats to levy sanctions if India continues to buy Russian military equipment. Moreover, the two nations have also been in dispute over the possibility of US restrictions on work visas for Indian professionals in retaliation for New Delhi's insistence on local data storage by big foreign firms.