00:00Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set for a three-nation Indo-Pacific tour with stops in Indonesia, New Zealand
00:07and Australia.
00:08The trip comes as India seeks closer ties amid questions of the U.S. engagement and China's growing influence.
00:15For more, let's bring in Swati Pandey, who leads our South Asia economics and government coverage.
00:21Swati, good to have you with us.
00:22I mean, this is a reflection of, I guess, the shifting alliances for a lot of Asian countries.
00:33That's right, Hass.
00:35We have seen a little bit of that middle power powwow happening in recent months.
00:43Months, I would say there's a lot of uncertainty around where U.S. stands in terms of providing economic or
00:51defense security to Asia.
00:54And at the same time, China's assertiveness is a concern for a lot of countries in the region as well.
01:01So this trip by Narendra Modi would kind of see these Indo-Pacific countries coming together, discussing defense, discussing economic
01:12ties, and that relationship, how that can be bolstered further.
01:19I'm just wondering what's on the agenda, what's really key?
01:23Are we looking at specific agreements, for instance?
01:30There will definitely be a lot of discussion around defense and how the countries can come together or support each
01:40other or provide defense equipment or support.
01:44Although we are not expecting an announcement per se, because traditionally, at least from India's side, defense announcements are not
01:54made during PM visits.
01:56However, we are hearing that there could be something around critical minerals or uranium.
02:02So there could be some agreements or announcement made there.
02:08Swati, before we let you go, it is also about balancing relationships with the U.S.
02:13How might that play out for India?
02:17Yes, it is a difficult balancing act because India is talking to the U.S. in advanced negotiations for a
02:25trade deal.
02:26This has been going on since pretty much the beginning of the year.
02:30They have said that they are very close.
02:3290 percent, 99 percent of the deal is done.
02:35And there's kind of like that final niggling issue between the two countries.
02:40So you do want the U.S. to be on your side.
02:43You do want that trade deal to happen.
02:45You do not want to anger Donald Trump.
02:47So that is that is definitely there.
02:50But you also want to make sure that you have strong relationship with your neighbors and countries in the Indo
02:56-Pacific.
02:56So it is definitely a tightrope walk for Narendra Modi.
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