Trade, Security, and the Future of U.S.–India Ties with Sameer Lalwani

Interview with Sameer Lalwani — 27:32

This week, Kelly and Tristan cover Israel’s unprecedented strike on Hamas leaders in Doha and the diplomatic fallout for Qatar and the Gaza ceasefire talks, the historic trial of Brazil’s former president Jair Bolsonaro and what it means for democratic resilience, and Beijing’s memory-politics summit—complete with a military parade and a guest list signaling China’s preferred world order.

Kelly is then joined by Sameer Lalwani for a deep dive on U.S.–India relations—why the partnership soared over the past decade, how new U.S. tariffs, the India-Pakistan war, and Modi’s optics-heavy outreach to Beijing and Moscow have strained ties, and what to watch ahead of a potential Quad leaders’ summit.

Sameer Lalwani is a Senior Fellow with the German Marshall Fund’s Indo-Pacific Program, a Senior Advisor to the Special Competitive Studies Project, a Non-Resident Senior Fellow with the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, and a research affiliate with MIT’s Security Studies Program. His work focuses on deterrence, conventional military competition, technology alliances, and Indo-Pacific security, and he is a contributing editor at War on the Rocks.

Read more about Lalwani's work: https://www.gmfus.org/find-experts/sameer-lalwani 

The opinions expressed in this conversation are strictly those of the participants and do not represent the views of Georgetown University or any government entity.

Produced by Abdalla Nasef and Freddie Mallinson. 

Recorded on September 10, 2025. Diplomatic Immunity, a podcast from the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University, brings you frank and candid conversations with experts on the issues facing diplomats and national security decision-makers around the world.

Funding support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

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