PM Modi to address joint session of US Congress on June 22
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been invited to address a joint meeting session of the US Congress on June 22 during his official state visit to the States, the leaders of the US Congress said on Friday. The leaders of the US House of Representatives and the US Senate from both parties invited PM Modi to share his vision of India’s future and the global challenges faced by both countries.
US President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden will also host Prime Narendra Modi for an Official State Visit to the United States next month, which will include a state dinner.
“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.
This will be the second time that Modi will be addressing a joint meeting of the US Congress. PM Modi had earlier addressed the US Congress during his visit to the US in June 2016.
“Based on our shared values and commitment to global peace and prosperity, the partnership between our two countries continues to grow. 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,” the congressional leaders said in their statement.
The address would celebrate the enduring friendship between the United States and India, the letter added. “Your historic address to a Joint Meeting of the Congress seven years ago left a lasting impact and greatly deepened the friendship between the US and India,” according to the statement.
“As you said in that address: ‘Our relationship is primed for a momentous future. The constraints of the past are behind us and foundations of the future are firmly in place.’ We look forward to paving the way for greater collaboration between our countries in the years to come,” it said. “Once again, we would be honoured to have you join us for a Joint Meeting of Congress to celebrate the enduring friendship between the US and India. We look forward to continuing to work together to build a brighter future for our countries and for the world,” it added.
Former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and South African President Nelson Mandela are some of the world leaders to be accorded this highest honours Washington affords to foreign dignitaries.
PM Modi was the fifth Indian Prime Minister to address a joint session of the US Congress seven years ago. Other Indian prime ministers who have this rare honour were Manmohan Singh (July 19, 2005), Atal Bihari Vajpayee (September 14, 2000), P V Narasimha Rao (May 18, 1994) and Rajiv Gandhi (July 13, 1985).
President Joe Biden will host PM Modi for an official State visit to the US, which will include a state dinner, on June 22. 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 upcoming visit 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 said in a statement while announcing the visit.
She said that Prime Minister Modi’s visit will strengthen two countries’ shared commitment to a free, open, prosperous, and secure Indo-Pacific and their shared resolve to elevate strategic technology partnership, including in defence, clean energy, and space.
“The leaders will discuss ways to further expand our educational exchanges and people-to-people ties, as well as our work together to confront common challenges from climate change, to workforce development and health security,” she added.
After becoming the 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, 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. 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.
He last visited Washington in September 2021 at the invitation of President Biden for a bilateral meeting and also attended the first in-person Quad Leaders Summit. Modi’s State Visit is reflective of the importance that President Biden attaches to his personal relationship with him and the India-US ties.
