Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday touched down at Washington DC on a three-day visit to the United States. During his visit, he will hold talks with President Barack Obama to review bilateral ties and address a joint session of the US Congress.
Modi has a packed schedule in US, including the address to a joint session of the US Congress. Modi is visiting the US at the invitation of President Obama.
He began his US visit by paying tributes at the Arlington National Cemetery. In a sombre ceremony, the PM was given a 19 gun salute. He laid the wreath there and paid his tributes. The cemetery holds importance in American history as veterans from many wars have been buried there.
Modi also visited the memorial of the Columbia Shuttle which is dedicated to the astronauts and crew of the Columbia Shuttle, including Indian American Kalpana Chawla who died in the disaster.
In homage to heroism and indomitable courage. PM @narendramodi at the Space Shuttle Columbia Memorial pic.twitter.com/HXJwgPFs8f— Vikas Swarup (@MEAIndia) June 6, 2016
Apart from his meeting with Obama, Modi will meet legislators and captains of American private industry.
He also attended a meeting of heads of US think tanks and a function at which some rare Indian artifacts were repatriated.
After history & culture, it's current & strategic affairs. Think tanks meet PM, share perspective on various issues. pic.twitter.com/WHSckWXOuf— PMO India (@PMOIndia) June 6, 2016
Modi arrived at the Joint Base Andrews from Switzerland where he secured the European nation's support for India's NSG membership ahead of a key meeting of the 48-nation bloc.
Since 2014, there have been six meetings and countless phone calls between Obama and Modi, and this visit "reflects the significance that the two leaders place on the natural alliance between the two largest democratic countries of the world", a senior US official had said ahead of the meeting.
This is Prime Minister Modi's fourth visit to the US. "In my meeting with the President on June 7, we will seek to build upon the progress achieved in providing new vigour and momentum to our strategic partnership in diverse areas," Modi had said before departing for his five-nation tour to Afghanistan, Qatar, Switzerland, the US and Mexico.
From the US, Modi will visit Mexico before heading back to India.
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