The visit of US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan to India this week is an occasion to celebrate the extraordinary progress in India-US relations during the last four years under President Joe Biden. It is also an opportunity to lay the groundwork for a smooth transition of the bilateral relationship to the next Administration. The significant continuity in US foreign policy between the first Trump Administration (2017-21) and the Biden years (2021-25) is worth noting. Whether it is the commitment to restore US manufacturing capacity, determination to counter China’s expansionism, focus on reclaiming US technological leadership, or rearranging the global economic order, Trump and Biden have been on the same page.

An important common thread between the two administrations has been the US policy to strengthen the strategic partnership with India. Trump’s articulation of a new Indo-Pacific framework provided, for the first time, a solid regional anchor for India-US cooperation. The Biden Administration doubled down on the Indo-Pacific strategy and the centrality of India’s role in securing a regional balance of power in Asia and its waters. The Trump years saw the revival of the Quadrilateral Security Forum — which brings the US together with Australia, India, and Japan — and framed it as the institutional anchor for the new Indo-Pacific region. Biden elevated the Quad to summit level and frequent meetings have provided a solid basis for expanding regional security cooperation between the four nations. Finally, if Trump responded positively to Indian requests for liberalization of advanced technology transfers to India, Biden constructed a comprehensive bilateral Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technologies (ICET) in January 2023.

Sullivan will review the progress under the ICET in his meetings with National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and focus on tying up loose ends, for example, on the transfer of fighter jet engine technology from the American company General Electric to Hindustan Aeronautics Limited. Sullivan will also meet External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar to discuss progress on several bilateral fronts, including the planned India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor, and the emerging dynamic in US and Indian relations with China and Russia. Jaishankar, who was in Washington late last month, had a chance to meet with Sullivan, the incoming NSA Michael Waltz, and the Secretary of State, Antony Blinken. These bilateral conversations during the final days of the transition between two administrations in Washington underline a growing strategic congruence. The mutual trust between Delhi and Washington has helped the two sides overcome the turbulence triggered by several issues, including India’s ties to Russia, the killing of an American citizen Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, and America’s presumed role in the coup against Sheikh Hasina in Bangladesh. There will be issues in Trump’s second term, but they are unlikely to derail the positive trajectory in the strategic partnership.

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