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Published January 24, 2015

Jan. 23, 2015: An Indian worker places an American flag on a flag pole in New Delhi, India.(AP)

WASHINGTON President Barack Obama will seek to leverage his burgeoning bond with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi into progress on climate change, defense and economic ties as he opens a three-day visit to New Delhi.

Relations between the U.S. and India have been strained in recent years, but Obama and Modi developed a good rapport during a visit in Washington last fall. Modi sought to return the favor by inviting Obama to travel to India as his guest for the annual Republic Day festivities, which mark the day in 1950 that the country's constitution came into force.

"It took us by some surprise," said Ben Rhodes, Obama's deputy national security adviser. "There's a great affinity between the United States and India and our people, but there's also a history that is complicated and that would have made it seem highly unlikely that a U.S. president would be sitting with India's leaders at their Republic Day ceremony."

After some internal deliberations, the White House accepted Modi's offer. The visit also includes a fresh round of bilateral meetings with Modi, an economic summit with U.S. and Indian business leaders and a visit to India's famed Taj Mahal.

Obama will be the first U.S. president to visit India twice while in office; he also traveled there in 2010 for an economic summit. First lady Michelle Obama will be with the president when he arrives in New Delhi on Sunday.

The president's visit is expected to be heavy on symbolism and lighter on substantive advances, though climate change, economics and defense ties are all on the agenda. Indian political commentator Ashok Malik said expectations for concrete deliverables during the visit are "below the standards usually set by U.S. presidents when they travel across the world for a three-day visit."

Still, U.S. and Indian officials appear to agree that even a symbolic show of solidarity between the leaders would be a sign of progress after recent difficulties.

While military cooperation and U.S. defense sales have grown, Washington has been frustrated by India's failure to open up to more foreign investment and to address complaints alleging intellectual property violations. India's liability legislation has also prevented U.S. companies from capitalizing on a landmark civil nuclear agreement between the two countries in 2008.

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Obama seeks to leverage ties with India's Modi