After attending the State Dinner at the White House on June 22, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will meet top US business honchos and the Indian diaspora in Washington on the next day before embarking on an official visit to Cairo on the invitation of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi.
According to diplomats based in Washington, General Electric’s proposal to manufacture F-414 aircraft engines under 100 per cent transfer of technology in India has also recorded a forward momentum with the deal bound for Capitol Hill for Congressional approval. PM Modi is slated to address the joint sitting of the US Congress on June 22.
With PM Modi and President Joe Biden both focused on the content of the visit and deliverables, the last-minute negotiations and work on a joint statement will take place after US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan holds a meeting with his Indian counterpart Ajit Doval on June 13. Indications are that the visit will yield positive results for both sides and further deepen ties across the board.
It is understood that PM Modi will be addressing the chairman and CEOs of top US companies at John F Kennedy Centre in Washington in the morning and devote the first half of the day towards economic cooperation between the two countries and then go on to address the Indian diaspora at Ronald Reagan Center in DC in the evening. The Ronald Reagan Center has a standing capacity of 5000 and a sitting capacity of 3000 people. Another plan on PM Modi doing a diaspora event in Chicago was dropped due to logistics.
{{/usCountry}}It is understood that PM Modi will be addressing the chairman and CEOs of top US companies at John F Kennedy Centre in Washington in the morning and devote the first half of the day towards economic cooperation between the two countries and then go on to address the Indian diaspora at Ronald Reagan Center in DC in the evening. The Ronald Reagan Center has a standing capacity of 5000 and a sitting capacity of 3000 people. Another plan on PM Modi doing a diaspora event in Chicago was dropped due to logistics.
{{/usCountry}}Simply put, PM Modi will focus on Yoga on June 21 at United Nations with UN Secretary-General joining the event, bilateral relationship, global politics, and Indo-Pacific on day two and on economy and diaspora on day three. He will embark on the journey to Egypt on June 23 evening immediately after the diaspora event at the Ronald Reagan Center.
While the US visit is first on PM Modi’s agenda, the visit to Egypt is no less important as Cairo is the heart of the Arab world and the seat of Islamic learning over the ages. Both Sisi and Modi are against religious radicalization and terrorism and converge on the economic and infrastructure growth of the Middle East.
While Egypt has been invited as India’s guest for the G-20 summit, President Sisi was the 2023 Republic Day guest in India with the two countries having civilizational ties. Even though Egypt was absent at the G-20 Tourism event in Srinagar along with Oman, India and Egypt are both against pan-Islamic radical groups like Muslim Brotherhood, Islamic State and Al Qaeda.