NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said his visit to the US would be an opportunity to enrich the depth and diversity of the Indo-US partnership and asserted that together the two countries stood stronger in meeting shared global challenges.
Modi said this “special invitation” from President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden for a state visit is a reflection of the vigour and vitality of the partnership between the democracies.
Modi emplaned for the US in the morning. He will head to Egypt from the US before returning to India.
In his departure statement ahead of his visit to the US and Egypt, Modi said his discussions with President Biden and other senior US leaders would provide an opportunity to consolidate bilateral cooperation as well as in multilateral forums such as G20, Quad and IPEF (Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity).
“I will commence my visit in New York, where I will celebrate the International Day of Yoga on June 21 at the United Nations Headquarters with the UN leadership and members of the international community,” the prime minister said.
“I look forward to this special celebration at the very location that supported India’s proposal in December 2014 to recognise an International Day of Yoga,” he said.
Modi said he would thereafter travel to Washington DC.
The prime minister noted that President Biden and he had had the opportunity to meet several times since his last official visit to the US in September 2021.
“This visit will be an opportunity to enrich the depth and diversity of our partnership,” Modi said.
India-US ties are multifaceted with deepening engagements across sectors, he noted.
The US is India’s largest trade partner in goods and services, and the two countries collaborate closely in the fields of science and technology, education, health, defence and security, the prime minister said.
The initiative on Critical and Emerging Technologies has added new dimensions and widened collaboration in defence industrial cooperation, space, telecom, quantum, artificial intelligence and biotech sectors, he added.
“Our two countries are also collaborating to further our shared vision of a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific,” he said.
In a tweet, Modi said that in the US, he would also get the opportunity to meet business leaders, interact with the Indian community and meet thought leaders from different walks of life.
On his visit to Egypt, the prime minister said, “I will travel to Cairo from Washington DC at the invitation of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi. I am excited to pay a State Visit to a close and friendly country for the first time.”