This will be Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s first state visit to the United States. He has visited the US on seven occasions earlier but those have been official visits
US President Joe Biden extended an invitation to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a State visit and both sides are working on mutually convenient dates in June or July, news agency PTI said in a report.
The invite comes as India is hosting the G20 Summit as it holds the presidency of the grouping. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has visited the US seven times after being elected but those visits have been official visits or working visits, with most of them being held on the margins of trips to the UN in New York.
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This will be PM Modi’s first State visit – considered to be the highest expression of friendly bilateral ties between the two democracies. A state banquet is held in the honour of the visiting head of states along with official public ceremonies.
A state visit requires a couple of days and Prime Minister Narendra Modi is also expected to address a joint session of the US Congress and a state dinner at the White House.
The dates are being discussed between both sides and are yet to be finalised because Prime Minister Narendra Modi has packed domestic and international commitments along with the G20 summit.
He will also campaign for a series of crucial state assembly elections later this year.
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Following China’s economic and military rise, the US has increased its partnership in India in order to deter Chinese aggression in the Indo-Pacific and South Pacific.
“The US really views that this is in our strategic interest to support India’s rise as a global power. We see that in both the Quad and as India’s Presidency of the G-20. This describes a greater vision of this coherent US-Indo Pacific strategy that requires that both the US and India pull closer together and overcome long-standing obstacles to doing so,” a person familiar with the developments told news agency PTI.
