Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Tuesday that his visit to the US will reinforce bilateral relations based on the shared values of democracy, diversity and freedom at a time when the two sides are working to tackle shared global challenges.
Modi made the remarks in a statement ahead of his departure for the state visit to the US at the invitation of President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden. Besides holding talks with Biden, Modi will be hosted for a state banquet by the US president and address a joint session of the US Congress.
Several crucial understandings and measures to remove barriers standing in the way of taking cooperation in key areas such as defence and critical technologies to the next level are expected to be unveiled during Modi’s three-day visit to the US.
“I am confident that my visit to the US will reinforce our ties based on shared values of democracy, diversity and freedom. Together we stand stronger in meeting the shared global challenges,” Modi said in the departure statement.
Noting that Biden’s invitation for a state visit reflects the “vigour and vitality of the partnership between our democracies”, he added that his discussions with the president and other senior US leaders will be an opportunity to consolidate cooperation bilaterally an in plurilateral forums such as G20, Quad and Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF).
Modi described India-US ties as multifaceted, with deepening engagements across different sectors.
The US is India’s largest trade partner in goods and services and the two sides collaborate closely in science and technology, education, health, defence and security, he said.
“The initiative on Critical and Emerging Technologies has added new dimensions and widened collaboration to defence industrial cooperation, space, telecom, quantum, artificial intelligence and biotech sectors. Our two countries are also collaborating to further our shared vision of a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific,” he said.
Modi will begin his visit in New York by joining celebrations marking the International Day of Yoga at the UN Headquarters on June 21.
“I look forward to this special celebration at the very location that supported India’s proposal in December 2014 to recognise an International Day of Yoga,” he said.
He will then travel to Washington for his meeting with Biden.
The two leaders have met several times since Modi’s last official visit to the US in September 2021, and the current visit will help enrich the depth and diversity of the partnership.
Referring to his address to a joint sitting of the House of Representatives and the Senate, Modi said the Congress has always provided strong bipartisan support to India-US ties.
“Strong people-to-people linkages have been instrumental in developing the trust between our countries. I look forward to meeting the vibrant Indian-American community that represents the best of our societies,” Modi said, adding he will meet leading CEOs to discuss opportunities in trade and investment and in building resilient global supply chains. People familiar with the matter said the prime minister is expected to meet more than two dozen thought leaders from different walks of life in New York. They will include Nobel laureates, economists, artists, scientists, scholars, entrepreneurs, academicians and health sector experts. The people said among those Modi is expected to meet are investor and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, astrophysicist and author Neil deGrasse Tyson, Paul Romer, who was awarded the 2018 Nobel Prize for Economics, author Nicholas Nassim Taleb, Ray Dalio, founder of the leading hedge fund firm Bridgewater Associates, and Grammy award-winning singer Falu Shah.
