Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been invited to address a joint meeting of the US House of Representatives and Senate on June 22 during his state visit, the leaders of the US Congress said on Friday. This is one of the highest honors Washington affords to foreign dignitaries.
"On behalf of the bipartisan leadership of the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate, it is our honour to invite you (Prime Minister Modi) to address a joint meeting of Congress on Thursday, June 22," House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said in a letter to PM Modi.
"During your address, you will have the opportunity to share your vision for India's future and speak to the global challenges our countries both face," they said in a statement. The address would celebrate the enduring friendship between the United States and India, the letter added.
President Joe Biden will host PM Modi for an official State visit to the US, which will include a state dinner, on June 22. This will be the second time that PM Modi will be addressing a joint meeting of the US Congress.
The government said in a statement that PM Modi will visit the US, following an invitation from President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden. This will be Modi's sixth visit to the US since taking over as PM in 2014. The two leaders are also expected to meet at the G7 and Quad summit meetings later this month in Hiroshima and Sydney respectively.
The last Indian PM to travel to the US for a state visit was Manmohan Singh in 2009, when he was hosted by then president Barack Obama.
The Indian side said that the leaders would reflect on their shared vision for a free, open, and inclusive Indo-Pacific and discuss opportunities to expand and consolidate the Quad engagement. PM Modi's state visit to the US will likely be the most keenly followed bilateral engagement in a series of high-profile meetings he's expected to have in the next few months, starting in Japan on the margins of G7 and culminating in his visit to France for the Bastille Day celebrations on July 14.
The Prime Minister's meeting with Biden will also come days before India hosts the SCO summit on July 4, on the margins of which he's expected to have bilateral meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping and also Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Source: Times of India