Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived at the Joint Base Andrews in Washington DC, kick starting his three-day visit to the US. PM Modi was received at the airport by senior officials of the Biden Administration and India's Ambassador to the US Taranjit Singh Sandhu PM has a range of engagements lined up including the Quad Leaders' Summit, bilateral talks with Joe Biden and the UNGA address.
As anticipated PM Modi was welcomed by a crowd of Indian Americans, chanting his name and waving the Indian flag despite the unfavorable rainy weather.
On the itinerary for September 23rd is also the meeting with Vice President Kamala Harris. Referring to his first meet with her, PM Modi said he was "looking forward" to the talks to explore opportunities for cooperation, particularly in the area of science and technology.
The Prime Minister will meet CEOs of various US based companies today ahead of the UN meet. CEOs that will call on Modi individually are Cristiano R Amon of Qualcomm, Shantanu Narayen of Adobe, Mark Widmar of First Solar, Vivek Lall of General Atomics and Stephen A Schwarzman of Blackstone.
This is PM Modi's first visit abroad beyond the neighbourhood since the Covid-19 pandemic outbreak. The last time PM Modi visited the US was in September 2019 when he and the then US President Donald Trump addressed the 'Howdy Modi' event in Houston.