Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be embarking next week on a US trip like none before and none other in the annals of foreign visits as Washington pulls out all stops to draw New Delhi into its sphere of influence.
Although a frequent visitor to America, averaging about one trip every year since he became Prime Minister in 2014, Modi’s first-ever state visit, centered around a ceremonial reception and banquet at the White House on June 22, will be bookended by other marquee events on June 21 and 23.
Biden jokingly said to the Prime Minister, “You’re causing me a real problem. Everyone in the whole country wants to come. I have run out of tickets.” Biden said only half-jokingly to Modi in the sidelines of the G7 summit in Hiroshima last month.
According to the US President himself, the State Banquet is now the hottest ticket in America, with the rich, powerful, and famous badgering the White House for an invitation.
UN headquarters, the Congress and State ceremony with President Biden.
Modi will arrive in Washington after landing in New York where he will participate in the International Yoga Day at the United Nations, with New Delhi asserting its cultural proprietorship of the practice in recent years.
A ceremonial reception with the all the bells and whistles befitting a state visit will be rolled out at the White House for the Indian Prime Minister, who surprisingly will be staying at a hotel next door rather than at Blair House, which is the standard venue for dignitaries during state visits.
Reuters photo: Prime Minister Modi and President Biden at the G7.
Getty’s photo featured image.
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