Boisterous crowd welcomes PM Narendra Modi to Washington

With an objective to consolidate the progress made in diverse areas such as economy, energy, environment, defence and security and to intensify cooperation for the future, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who took off for the Unites States after concluding his Swiss engagements, arrived at Joint Base Andrews (JBA) here Monday afternoon on a bilateral visit at the invitation of President Barack Obama.

The Prime Minister came out of the aircraft waving his hand at a boisterous crowd chanting ‘Modi-Modi’.

At the JBA, Prime Minister Modi was welcomed by U.S. Deputy Chief of Protocol Natalie Jones, Indian Ambassador to the U.S. Arun Singh and U.S. Ambassador to India Richard Rahul Verma among others.

Before departing for Blair House, the U.S. President’s Guest House, the Prime Minister interacted and accepted greetings from the crowd waiting outside the fence.

On Monday, Prime Minister Modi has three programmes: first, he will be visiting the Arlington National Cemetery for a wreath laying. Besides this, he has two events at Blair House. One is a meeting with heads of American think tanks, while the other function is involving the repatriation of cultural property, basically Indian antiquities, which are in the U.S. which are being returned to India, said Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar, while briefing the media over the Prime Minister’s five-nation tour in New Delhi on Saturday.

The Prime Minister would be meeting President Obama on June 7, followed by a lunch in his honour.

“In the evening, the Prime Minister will be meeting business leaders in the U.S. and addressing the U.S.-India Business Council,” said Jaishankar, adding Defence Secretary Aston Carter will be calling on the Prime Minister between the two meetings.

On the 8th of June, the forenoon is devoted to events in the US Congress, he said, while elaborating on the Prime Minister’s engagement in the U.S.

He would be going to the US Congress, meeting Speaker Paul Ryan and the Congressional leadership. He would be delivering an address to the joint meeting of the U.S. Congress. This would be followed by a lunch, which is hosted by the Speaker in honour of the Prime Minister, said Jaishankar, adding that there will be a reception, which will be jointly done by the House and Senate Committees on Foreign Relations and the India Caucus, followed by a brief community reception.

He would be going to the U.S. Congress and meeting to the Speaker and the Congressional leadership and would be delivering an address to the joint meeting to the U.S. Congress. This would be followed by a lunch hosted by the Speaker in the honour of the Prime Minister. And then, a reception jointly hosted by the House and Senate Committees on Foreign Relations and the India Cocas, followed by a brief community reception,” he added.

Jaishankar said Prime Minister Modi would be on the afternoon of June 8 flying off the Mexico City, where he would have a meeting with Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto.

Talking about the U.S. visit, Prime Minister Modi in a Facebook post said: “I will be reaching Washington DC on a bilateral visit in the evening of 6th June at the invitation of President Barack Obama. In my meeting with the President on 7th June, we will seek to build upon the progress achieved in providing new vigour and momentum to our strategic partnership in diverse areas.”

“Am looking forward to address the 40th AGM of the USIBC and meet US business leaders who have, over the past two years, shown renewed confidence in the India. I will exchange views with US think-tanks and attend a ceremony marking the return of Indian antiques. During my visit to Arlington Cemetery I will lay wreaths at the Tomb of the Unknown Solider and Space Shuttle Columbia Memorial, in which we lost an Indian origin astronaut, Kalpana Chawla,” he said while elaborating about his programmes in the U.S.

“On 8th June, I will address a Joint Meeting of the US Congress. I thank Speaker Paul Ryan for inviting me to speak to Congressmen and Senators. During my visit to the US Capitol, I will also interact with members of the House of Representatives and the Senate, many of whom have been valued friends of India and a strong votary of deepening India-USA ties,” said the Prime Minister.

Saying that India and the U.S. are natural partners, two vibrant democracies that celebrate their diversity and pluralism, the Prime Minister added: “Strong India-USA ties benefit not only our two nations but also the entire world.”