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PM Modi to visit US, Egypt from June 20-25: MEA
Modi’s visit to the US is being seen as the high point in India’s calendar for bilateral engagements ahead of the G20 Summit in September, for which Biden is expected to travel to New Delhi
India on Friday announced that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will make a state visit to the US during June 20-24, when he will be hosted by President Joe Biden at the White House and address a joint session of the Congress.
The external affairs ministry said Modi will travel from the US to Egypt during June 24-25 to meet President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and build on trade and strategic relations between the two sides. This will be Modi’s first visit to Egypt.
Modi’s visit to the US is being seen as the high point in India’s calendar for bilateral engagements ahead of the G20 Summit in September, for which Biden is expected to travel to New Delhi. Several important deals, including one for India’s planned acquisition of 31 weaponised drones and another on closer collaboration on semiconductors, are expected to be unveiled during the visit to the US.
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Modi’s state visit to the US, at the invitation of Biden and First Lady Jill Biden, will commence in New York, where the prime minister will lead celebrations marking the International Day of Yoga at the United Nations headquarters on June 21. The UN General Assembly adopted a resolution in December 2014 to proclaim June 21 as the International Day of Yoga.
Thereafter, Modi will travel to Washington, where he will be given a ceremonial welcome at the White House on June 22. He will meet Biden to continue their high-level dialogue, the external affairs ministry said.
Biden and the First Lady will host a state dinner in honour of Modi the same evening.
At the invitation of Congressional leaders, including the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Kevin McCarthy, and the Speaker of the Senate, Charles Schumer, Modi will address a joint sitting of the US Congress on June 22. Addresses to joint sessions of Congress are usually reserved for the closest allies of the US or major world figures. Modi last made such an address in 2016.
On June 23, Modi will be jointly hosted at a luncheon by Vice President Kamala Harris and Secretary of state Antony Bilnken.
In addition to the official engagements, Modi is scheduled to have several curated interactions with CEOs, professionals and other stakeholders. He will also meet members of the Indian diaspora, the external affairs ministry said.
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Modi will subsequently travel to Cairo to pay a state visit to Egypt at the invitation of President Sisi. The invitation was extended to the prime minister in January when Sisi attended the Republic Day celebrations as chief guest.
Apart from holding talks with Sisi, Modi is likely to interact with senior dignitaries from the Egyptian government, prominent Egyptian personalities, and the Indian community.
Relations between India and Egypt are based on ancient trade and economic linkages and cultural and people-to-people ties, the external affairs ministry said. During Sisi’s state visit in January, the two countries agreed to elevate their relationship to a strategic partnership.
