At 3 pm in Maryland on Monday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in the US from Switzerland as part of his five-nation tour.
This is Modi’s second bilateral visit to the US after September 2014. The Prime Minister is visiting at the invitation of US President Barack Obama, who in the last year of his presidency is inviting a few world leaders with whom he shared a “close and productive working relationship”.
Here are the highlights from his first day in the US:
Modi Meets US Think Tank Heads
On the first day of his visit, Modi met the heads of US think tanks.
Returning Indian Idols
Modi attended a function during which Indian idols lying in the US were returned to India.
Modi thanked US President Barack Obama for the gesture.
For some, these artefacts may be measured in monetary terms, but for us this is beyond that. It’s a part of our culture and heritage.Narendra Modi
Modi Lays Wreath at Arlington Memorial
Modi laid a wreath at the Arlington Memorial, where bodies of American soldiers who sacrificed their lives for their country have been laid to rest.
Arlington National Cemetery, as it is officially known, is the final resting place of many of the US’ greatest heroes, including more than 300,000 veterans of every American conflict, from the Revolutionary War to Iraq and Afghanistan, the US National Park Services website states.
Modi is the third Indian Prime Minister to visit the Arlington Memorial after Jawaharlal Nehru in 1949 and Indira Gandhi in 1966.
Homage to Kalpana Chawala
Modi on Monday laid a wreath at the Tomb of Unknown Soldiers and paid homage to Indian-American astronaut late Kalpana Chawla at Arlington National Cemetery.
He also had a brief interaction with the husband and family members of Chawla, senior officials from NASA, Indian-American astronaut Sunita Williams and her father at Space Shuttle Columbia Memorial.
Highlights of Day 2
- On the second day, Obama will host Modi for a lunch at the White House. Later, the Prime Minister will attend a meeting of US business leaders and address the US-India Business Council.
This will be the seventh meeting between Modi and Obama as Prime Minister and President.
- The highlight of Modi’s visit will be his address to a joint sitting of the US Congress on Wednesday.
- Later on Wednesday, he will leave for Mexico on the fifth and final leg of his five-nation tour.
(With agency inputs)
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