Indian VVIPs’ flying fortress, Air India One B777 which got a Rs-8400cr makeover in 2020, is getting ready for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s sixth trip but first state visit to the United States. Scheduled from 21 to 24 June 2023, PM Modi is visiting the US at the invitation of President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden. India’s former President S Radhakrishnan and former PM Manmohan Singh were Modiji’s predecessors to have been bestowed the honor of an official visit to America in 1963 and 2009 respectively.
PM Modi’s official US visit in 2023 is highly anticipated to create history, as he will be addressing a joint meeting of the US Congress at the Capitol on June 23. This is one of the most prestigious honors that White House accords to the political heads of foreign countries in good relations with America. The Indian American community and corporate honchos of the US, including CEOs of top conglomerates are gearing up to welcome him. The stupendous success of the “Howdy Modi!” event in Houston, which the Indian-origin leaders of Texas had organized during Modi’s trip in 2019, is a litmus taste to his popularity overseas.
The schedule of Modi’s first state visit to USA is full of events starting with the International Yoga Day celebration at the UN headquarters in New York City on June 21. On the same day, he would fly to Washington DC, where his stay will be arranged at Blair House. Adjudged as “the world’s most exclusive hotel”, Blair House is the US President’s guest house for visiting foreign dignitaries. He would be treated as an honorable state guest there.
June 21 will end with a private dinner that the Bidens will host at the White House in honor of PM Modi, following an event with Dr. Jill Biden, an advocate of educational opportunities. The pre-dinner event is likely to culminate in a discussion on the prospects of creating a bridge between US universities and the top institutes in India. On June 22, Modi will be given a grand welcome at the South Lawns of the White House, according to his US visit 2023 schedule. Reportedly, thousands of Indian American leaders from different walks of life would attend the welcome ceremony.
PM Modi’s first official visit to Washington DC is being hailed as a milestone in the US-India relationship. The President of the world’s biggest economy and the Prime Minister of the world’s largest democracy will have a one-on-one talk in the Oval Office where a ceremonial lamp is lit to celebrate Diwali every year. It will be followed by a delegation-level meeting at the Capitol where Modi will address the joint session of the US Congress in the afternoon of June 22.
In the evening, PM Modi will be treated to the state dinner at the White House. Over 250 delegates, including the crème de la crème of the diverse Indian American community, will join him at dinner. The state guest and the delegates in attendance will get to see some cultural programs reflecting the beauty of India.
A lavish luncheon with Vice president Kamala Harris and the Secretary of State Antony Blinken is also on the schedule of Modi’s 2023 trip to USA. The luncheon will be arranged in the Benjamin Franklin Room of the State Department on June 23. In addition to diplomatic discussions with the leaders in President Biden’s cabinet, Modi will honor invitations by Indian Diaspora in America. Leading diaspora groups, such as Indiaspora, will host him at Ronald Regan Center in Washington DC on June 23. The program is named “We The People: Celebrating the US-India Partnership”. Another diaspora gathering is likely to be organized at John F. Kennedy Center by the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF).
“Political mavericks of the US are looking forward to Indian PM Modi’s address to a joint session of the Congress at the Capitol. They are expecting to hear Modi about India’s neutral stance on the Russian-Ukraine conflict, and India’s denial of United Airlines’ application for regulatory approvals to codeshare with Emirates flights to and from India. It is also anticipated that Indian-origin leaders from Texas, California, Seattle, Atlanta, Florida, and Michigan would petition to PM Modi for nonstop flights to India, which they had done before,” said Sourav Agarwal, the Editor of Travel Beats, a leading portal for Indian Diaspora by Indian Eagle Travel.
The excitement about PM Modi’s visit is so high in Indian Diaspora that Shripad Kulkarni, the chef of a New Jersey Indian restaurant named Mehek, has launched a special ‘Modi Ji Thali’ in his honor.