Upcoming State visit will affirm the deep and close partnership between India and US: White House

Washington, Jun 7 (PTI) The upcoming Official State visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the US will affirm the deep and close partnership between the two countries and the warm bonds of family and friendship that link Americans and Indians together, the White House said Wednesday.

Prime Minister Modi will embark on his first state visit to the US at the invitation of President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden in June. The US president and the First Lady will also host Modi at a state dinner on June 22.

“The upcoming visit we believe will affirm the deep and close partnership between the United States and India and the warm bonds of family and friendship that link Americans and Indians together,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters at her daily news conference.

“The Prime Minister and the President will discuss ways to strengthen our two countries, shared commitment to a free, open, prosperous and secure Indo-Pacific and our shared resolve to elevate our strategic technology partnership including defence. So that certainly will be talked about in clean energy and space,” she said responding to a question on the State Visit.

“But I’m just not going to get into details on what the particulars will be. And as we get closer to June 22nd, we certainly have more to share,” she said in response to a question.

Modi’s visit to the US comes ahead of the G20 Summit being hosted by India in September.

After becoming Prime Minister in 2014, Modi has made more than half a dozen trips to the United States for bilateral and multilateral meetings with all three American presidents, Barack Obama, Donald Trump and now Biden, but this is for the first time he has been invited for an official state visit, a privilege accorded to America’s close friends and allies.

His last visit to Washington was in September 2021 at the invitation of President Biden for a bilateral meeting. He had also attended the first in-person Quad Leaders Summit hosted by Biden.