Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrapped up his state visit to the United States on Friday, June 23. The three-day state visit, his first in nine years, included at least three meetings with President Joe Biden, an address to members of the US Congress, diaspora events and interactions with some of top CEOs.
“Concluding a very special USA visit, where I got to take part in numerous programs and interactions aimed at adding momentum to the India-USA friendship. Our nations will keep working together to make our planet a better place for the coming generations,” PM Modi tweeted, ahead of his departure. He is now headed to Egypt for another state visit.
President Biden welcomed Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday, June 22 for his first official state visit to Washington, alongside a 7,000-strong crowd that included members from the Indian American community, diplomats and senior U.S. officials. The rainy weather didn’t dampen the spirits of the hundreds of members of the Indian diaspora gathered near the South Lawn, who arrived at the White House early Thursday morning greeting reporters with chants of “Modi, Modi.” Biden and Modi gave separate remarks lasting 10 minutes, with both speaking about their nations’ shared values, including the similarities in their constitutions which begin with the words “we the people.” He was given an official 21-gun salute.
Prime Minister Modi and President Biden had a one-on-one meeting in the Oval Office of the White House before holding high-level talks to further boost the growing Indo-US strategic relations in areas like defense, space and critical technologies. Earlier, PM Modi and Biden discussed all pressing challenges confronting the global community in their talks and exchanged views on how India and the US could cooperate to mitigate, address and deal with terrorism comprehensively, Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra said.
PM Modi on Thursday became the first Indian leader to address the joint session of the US Congress twice. He first addressed a joint meeting of the US Congress in 2016. PM Modi arrived in the House Chamber to a rousing reception as lawmakers stood up and applauded as he walked up to the podium to deliver his address. There are millions here, who have roots in India. Some of them sit proudly in this chamber. There is one behind me, who has made history.
I am told that the Samosa Caucus is now the flavor of the House,” said PM Modi. “For this honor, I extend my deepest gratitude on behalf of 1.4 billion people of India. I see that nearly half of you were here in 2016. I can also see the enthusiasm of the old friends and the new friends in the other half. “In the past few years, there have been many advances in AI- Artificial Intelligence. At the same time, there has been even more momentous development in another AI- America and India,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said as he addressed the joint sitting of the US Congress.
Big names in the tech world and billionaire industrialists such as Mukesh Ambani, Nita Ambani, Google CEO Sunder Pichai, Apple CEO Tim Cook, Industrialist Anand Mahindra, Corporate leader Indira Nooyi, Satya Nadella and Shantanu Narayen were among those invited to the State Dinner hosted in honor of Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the White House on 22nd June.
More than 400 guests were invited for the dinner hosted by US President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden at a specially decorated pavilion on the South Lawn of the White House. In his address at the State Dinner, Prime Minister Modi applauded the role of Indian-Americans in the all-round development of the nation they live in and in playing a significant role in strengthening the India-US relationship. The guests here “symbolize so much about the US-India relationship – our energy, our dynamism, and our potential”, he said.
Indian-origin CEO of Google and parent company Alphabet, Sundar Pichai, 23rd June met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Washington, after which the executive announced that his organization would be investing $10 billion in India’s digitization fund. He also met Amazon CEO Andrew Jassy and Boeing’s David L Calhoun in Washington, on the third and final day of his visit.
“This partnership is not of convenience, it’s a partnership of conviction:” PM Modi at USISPF event at Kennedy Performing arts center. PM Modi said, “Technology handshake held at the White House today is a direct message to the companies, businesses, manufacturers and innovators of both the countries – This is the moment. India and US Governments have done the groundwork for you.
But now, the responsibility to grow on this ground is yours. The one who plays will flourish. I’m sure that you’ll not let this opportunity slide.” “I invite you to join the journey of India’s future. Let us come together for a better world, a better future…This is the time, the right time,” said PM Modi. He said that the “Ease of Doing Business” is a promise of the Indian Government, adding, “Whenever India has grown stronger, the whole world has benefitted.”
“We are empowering the poor of India, increasing their ease of living. In 10 years, India has become the 5th largest economy from the 10th largest economy in the world. The way India faced this epidemic in Corona shows India’s potential,” added PM Modi.
“‘Together India and the US are not just forming policies and agreements, we are shaping lives, dreams and destinies,” said PM Narendra Modi addressing the Indian-American community at the end of his three-day state visit to the US. “The partnership between India and the United States will make the world better in the 21st Century. You all play a crucial role in this partnership,” he added while speaking at Ronald Reagan Center, Washington.
India will have two new US consulates, one in Bengaluru and one in Ahmedabad. “Both India and the US have agreed that the latter will begin the process to open new consulates in India. Meanwhile, India will open its consulates in Seattle and two other places,” said PM Modi. The prime minister also announced that Indian-origin members will not have to leave the US for a H-1B visa from now. “It has now been decided that the H-1B visa renewal can be done in the US itself,” he said. The new visa rules will make it easier for Indians to live and work in the US.
