Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has begun a three-day visit to Washington. He sits down with President Barack Obama on Tuesday—their seventh meeting in two years—and on Wednesday is scheduled to address a joint session of Congress.

Here are five things to expect during Mr. Modi’s trip:

* A focus on the future.

Both sides want to showcase the breadth of the relationship, emphasizing the repositories of goodwill, trust, and convergent goals that would smooth the coming U.S. leadership transition. Expect ample references to the “natural” dimensions of the relationship, rooted in its many shared values and interests. Expect also un-sexy but nonetheless significant accords on a range of issues—cyber cooperation, for example, and clean energy—meant to illustrate the depth of the partnership.

* Big-time bonhomie; few big-bang announcements.

The warm personal chemistry between Mr. Obama and Mr. Modi has been a compelling storyline of U.S.-India relations the last two years. During previous summits, bear hugsappeared to generate more headlines than did agreements. The Obama-Modi bromance is likely to receive top billing this week, particularly with little likelihood of major announcements. There are, however, some substantial deals in the works, though they may not be finalized before Mr. Modi leaves. One, announced “in principle” in April, is the type of arrangement Washington tends to reach with its closest defense partners:allowing each country to use the other’s military facilities for refueling and repairs. Another would allow Toshiba Corp.’s Westinghouse Electric to build nuclear reactors in India, making operational a civil nuclear accord ratified eight years ago.

An emphasis on security cooperation… 

Washington and New Delhi have “one of the biggest, fastest moving defense relationships in the world,” former U.S. ambassador Frank Wisner has said. Some of the deepest convergences are on defense issues. Both countries worry about terrorism in the Afghanistan-Pakistan region and about China’s provocations in the Asia-Pacific. To this end, Mr. Modi’s visit—which included a stop at Arlington National Cemetery on Monday afternoon—is expected to feature strong expressions of support and intent for ramping up sales of arms and defense technology. The biggest potential prize for defense relations may wait for the next U.S. administration: Congress has introducedlegislation that would give India top priority—and effectively the same status as U.S. alliance partners—for some arms and defense technology sales. This would be significant given India’s traditional allergy to alliance-like arrangements.

* … and on bipartisanship. 

Mr. Modi’s speech to a joint session of Congress, the first such address under House Speaker Paul Ryan, is likely to highlight congressional contributions to U.S.-India relations and progress made under presidents of both parties. The Obama administration and the George W. Bush administration have taken big steps to upgrade the partnership, which is supported by elected officials of both parties. Invoking that bipartisan support would signal that the relationship rests on firm ground during the U.S. leadership transition.

* Little public discussion of tension points.

There has, of course, been bipartisan criticism of India. Most recently, a group of senators, including Bob Corker (R., Tenn.) and Ben Cardin (D., Md.) lambasted New Delhi’s human rights record. Mr. Modi may face questions about this during private congressional meetings, but such inquiries are unlikely to detract from the visit. Other tension points—such as U.S. visa policies that New Delhi believes penalize Indian workers in the United States, a business environment in India that upsets U.S. investors, and Washington’s relationship with the Pakistani military—are likely to be pushed to the back burner. The overall strength of the relationship allows some matters to be set aside, at least temporarily.

The opinions expressed here are solely those of the author.

This article was originally published in the Wall Street Journal's Think Tank blog.