PM MODI'S U.S. VISIT IS THE REAL BIG DEAL

The buzz and frenzy surrounding Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s maiden state visit to the United States are inescapable as the White House gears up to serenade the Indian leader. In an unprecedented build-up, the White House, the State Department and the Pentagon are rhapsodising in unison about the Modi visit in anticipation

- MANISH CHAND

Key members of the Biden cabinet and politicians across the aisle have literally exhausted adjectives and hyperboles, branding the forthcoming visit by PM Modi as “transformative, historic, path-breaking.”

The ceremonial part of the visit—with all the bells and whistles—will be captivating and breathtaking. PM Modi will be welcomed at the White House on the morning of 22 June with a 21-gun salute, with a record number of Indian-Americans in attendance. The Biden administration has pulled out all stops to make the Modi visit memorable and substantive in terms of optics as well as outcomes. PM Modi will be only the third state visitor of the Biden administration, after French President Emmanuel Macron in December 2022 and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol in April 2023. Modi will also become the first Indian leader to address the joint session of the US Congress on 22 June, for the second time.

With so much hype and frenzy, the big question is whether the 20-23 June visit by PM Modi to the US will live up to grand expectations. Sceptics may scoff and cynics may cavil, but if one looks at the sheer ambition and breadth of the agenda, this is one of those rare occasions where the results may actually surpass the hype. The deliverables that will be unveiled after the talks between PM Modi and US President Joe Biden at the White House on 22 June, will be truly transformational and revolutionary in its long-term impact and ramifications.

NEW ENGINE, NEW JOURNEY