The American President Joe Biden will welcome the Prime Minister of India on June 22 Narendra Modi who will make an official visit, to whom the most official form of reception will be reserved at the White House, his representative announced today.

The visit is expected to “underscore the deep and close partnership between the US and India,” Karin Jean-Pierre said in a press release, as well as “the warm family and friendly ties” between the two countries. It will also strengthen our shared resolve to upgrade our strategic cooperation in technology, including in the areas of defence, clean energy and space.”

The visit is also expected to “reinforce our two countries’ shared commitment to a free, open, prosperous and secure Indo-Pacific region,” the spokeswoman wrote.

The wording is, for the Americans, a way to invoke without naming China’s growing regional influence, which they promise to combat.

The press release does not invoke the contrary Ukrainea sensitive issue as India, Russia’s long-time military ally, has called for an end to hostilities in Ukraine but has never condemned the Russian invasion.

An official visit is the highest level of protocol for the arrival of a head of state.

During Joe Biden’s presidency, French President Emmanuel Macron was the first to receive this highly official reception, between military honors and a state dinner, and more recently, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol.

Narendra Modi had recently been to the White House in September 2021, but in the context of a larger meeting, that of the Quad, the alliance in which the United States, India, Japan and Australia participate.

This will be the first official visit to Washington by the Hindu nationalist prime minister since he assumed the post ten years ago.

Modi, who has been criticized by the UN for his human rights record, is nevertheless a leader whose favor Westerners seek. He will, for example, be the official guest at the military parade on July 14 in Paris, the day of France’s national holiday.