US President Joe Biden has invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his first State visit, according to PTI sources. The invitation has been accepted in principle and the visit is expected to take place in June or July, they say.
However, sources did not reveal when this invitation was delivered and who delivered this personal invitation from Biden to the Prime Minister’s Office.
A state visit is considered the highest expression of friendly bilateral ties between two democracies. A state banquet will be held in his honor, along with other official public ceremonies.
This will also be Prime Minister Modi's eighth visit to the United States, where he has made the most international trips of any destination.
Modi's visit is likely to include a joint address with Biden to Congress and a state dinner at the White House. Biden hosted French President Emmanuel Macron for his first state dinner last December.
Biden views the US-India partnership as "essential" to address global challenges, a senior administration official said
“President Biden views that, as two of the world’s leading knowledge economies, this partnership is essential. He believes that no successful and enduring effort to address any of the major challenges that the world faces today, whether we’re looking at food or energy or health security, the climate crisis, or upholding a free and open Indo-Pacific, going to work without a US-India partnership at its heart,” a senior administration official told a group of Indian reporters in Washington D.C..
During a visit to Tokyo last year, Prime Minister Modi referred to the relationship between India and the US as a partnership built on trust and a positive force for promoting global peace and stability.
“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 G20. 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,” the senior administration official said on the condition of anonymity.
On Tuesday, India and the US launched the India-US initiative on Critical and Emerging Technologies (iCET), which officials describe as the "next big thing" in their relationship.
“The discussions during this visit form the basis for intensifying India-US cooperation in cutting-edge sectors and are truly reflective of the maturity of the India-US comprehensive, global strategic partnership,” the embassy said in a statement about NSA Ajit Doval's visit for the launch.
The visit is still in its early stage of logistical planning and both sides are working on suitable days, when both the Biden and Modi are free from their legislative duties as both the US House of Representatives and the Senate will be out of session. Their meeting is also scheduled keeping in mind Modi's predetermined domestic commitments, international engagements and the G20 summit scheduled for September.
In addition to the G20, PM Modi has packed domestic and international commitments till the fall, before he hits the campaign trail for a series of crucial state assembly elections later this year.
With agency inputs.
