When Modi addresses a joint meeting of the US Congress on June 23, it will make him only the third world leader to make such an address twice.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s upcoming state visit underlines the rising importance of India in global affairs and the deepening ties between our two nations, senior US diplomat Atul Keshap said on Monday. Keshap, president of the US-India Business Council (USIBC), stressed the visit is “truly a momentous thing” since it will be only the third state visit from India to the United States.
The previous two state visits included the one for President S Radhakrishnan in June 1963 and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in November 2009.
“It is the reflection of friendship and trust between the people of the United States and people of India,” Atul Keshap said.
Modi has been invited by President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden for an official state visit which would include a State Dinner on June 22. The preparation for the historic visit is expected to gain momentum this week with US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan heading to New Delhi for the second round of the iCET Dialogue with his Indian counterpart Ajit Doval.
Indian Ambassador to US Taranjit Singh Sandhu asserted that the ceremonial and substantive part of the state visit will “fully complement each other and will be unparalleled.”
“We are a week away from the historic state visit of Prime Minister Modi to the United States at the invitation of President Biden. There is great excitement on both sides. My PM is only the third Indian leader in our independent history to be accorded the honour of a state visit by the US President. He also will become the only Indian leader to address the US Congress twice,” Sandhu said.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the Biden administration sees the “defining relationship as a unique connection between the world’s oldest and largest democracies” and “the importance of the partnership in a shared commitment to address regional and global challenges.”