WASHINGTON — Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived here June 6 on a three-day visit during which he will hold talks with President Barack Obama to review bilateral ties and address a joint session of the U.S. Congress.
Modi arrived at the Joint Base Andrews from Switzerland where he secured the European nation’s support for India’s NSG membership ahead of a key meeting of the 48-nation bloc.
“Penultimate leg of PM Narendra Modis journey begins as he arrives in Washington D.C. on a sunny summer afternoon,” External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup tweeted.
Modi has a packed schedule here, including the address to a joint session of the U.S. Congress. He will be the fifth Indian prime minister to do so. Modi is visiting the U.S. at the invitation of President Obama.
Since 2014, there have been six meetings and countless phone calls between Obama and Modi, and this visit “reflects the significance that the two leaders place on the natural alliance between the two largest democratic countries of the world,” a senior U.S. official had said ahead of the meeting.
This is Modi’s fourth visit to the U.S.
“In my meeting with the president on June 7, we will seek to build upon the progress achieved in providing new vigor and momentum to our strategic partnership in diverse areas,” Modi had said before departing for his five-nation tour to Afghanistan, Qatar, Switzerland, the U.S. and Mexico.
Modi will begin his U.S. visit by paying tributes at the Arlington National Cemetery. He will then meet heads of a number of American think tanks and will attend an event to repatriate Indian antiquity by the U.S.
Modi will also address the 40th annual general meeting of the US India Business Council and meet U.S. business leaders.
“India and USA are natural partners, two vibrant democracies that celebrate their diversity and pluralism. Strong India-USA ties benefit not only our two nations but also the entire world,” Modi had said.
Meanwhile, American lawmakers are flooded with requests from the Indian American community to get tickets for Modi’s address to Congress on June 8. Indian Americans from all across the U.S. are flying to Washington, DC to hear Modi in person.
“This is a speech, which I would like to watch in person. I do not want to miss it,” said MR Rangaswami, a Silicon Valley-based successful investor and entrepreneur, who is flying from California to attend Modi’s event on Capitol Hill.
Rangaswami, the founder of Indiaspora, is among the few who have managed to get a ticket to the visitors’ gallery of the House Chambers, which has limited number of seats. A large number of Indian Americans were disappointed by not being able to get tickets for the event. Congressional sources told PTI that lawmakers are having a tough time in declining requests for a ticket. In fact, most of the congressmen have been allocated one ticket each. Given the great demand for tickets, congressional sources said at one point of time, there was consideration for erecting a huge tent for Indian Americans to watch the speech live. But the idea was shelved because of Congress’ protocol.
The speech would be telecast nationwide live on C-Span, a cable and satellite television network.
“The invitation (to the Prime Minister) itself shows the status of the relationship and how far we have come,” said Swadesh Chatterjee, an eminent Indian American. Chatterjee, who played a key role in reviving the India-U.S. relationship after the Pokhran nuclear tests, vividly remembers how he and many other Indian Americans had to lobby for months in the Congress to invite the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee to address a joint session of the Congress on Sept. 14, 2000.
“And this time, we had no role to play. Congressmen themselves wrote to the Speaker (of the House of Representatives) to invite Modi to address the joint session of the Congress. And it took no time for Speaker (Paul) Ryan to invite India’s prime minister,” said North Carolina-based Chatterjee.
From the U.S., Modi will visit Mexico before heading back to India.
@Agency report.
