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Prime Minister Narendra Modi has embarked on a 3-day long visit to the US where he is set to meet US President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden
PM Modi said his visit to the US will be an opportunity to enrich the depth and diversity of the Indo-US partnership and asserted that together the two countries stand stronger in meeting shared global challenges
PM Modi will reach New York on June 20 and is expected to be welcomed by a group of Indian Americans at the Andrews Air Force Base. On June 21, the PM will lead celebrations marking the International Day of Yoga at the UN headquarters in New York
PM Modi will then travel to Washington DC for a State Banquet with US President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden
On June 22, PM Modi will deliver a high-level dialogue or a joint statement with US President Biden. This will be followed by a ceremonial welcome at the White House. Several people including members of the Indian diaspora will be participating in it
After the bilateral talks with US President Biden, PM Modi will address a joint sitting of the US Congress on June 22. He will be only the third world leader outside Israel to make such an address twice. He had earlier addressed Congress in 2016 under Obama’s administration. This will be followed by a dinner hosted by President Biden
On June 23, PM Modi will be jointly hosted by US Vice-President Kamala Harris and Secretary of State Antony Blinken. He will also interact with top-level CEOs, professionals and other stakeholders. The visit is being undertaken to cement the India-US bilateral relationships
On the evening of June 23, PM Modi will take part in a mega event at Ronald Reagan Centre where he will deliver an address to the members of the Indian diaspora, that is the NRIs who are living in the US. After this, he will embark on his first visit to the US to meet its President Abdel Fattah El-Sissi
Ahead of PM Modi’s visit, the US Secretary of State briefed the media. Responding to a query on the ease of issuing US visas to Indians, US Secretary of State spokesperson Matthew Miller, said, “Yeah. I will say, with respect to visas, our consular teams have been making a huge push to process as many visa applications as possible in India, including in those visa categories that are key to the bilateral relationship. This is a top priority for our government. We know that there is more work that we can do, and we are working hard to do it"