After an invitation from United States President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will travel to the US for an official state visit on 22 June, the White House said on Wednesday, 10 May.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre announced the visit and said:
"The upcoming visit will affirm the deep and close partnership between the US and India and the warm bonds of family and friendship that link Americans and Indians together."
"The leaders will have the opportunity to review strong bilateral cooperation in various areas of mutual interest, including technology, trade, industry... and deepening people-to-people connections," Karine Jean-Pierre added.
The visit signifies the strengthening relationship between the US and India, as the Biden administration pursues policies and initiatives which claim to promote a free and open Indo-Pacific region, in response to what it perceives as an increasing threat from China.
Both India and the US are actively seeking to garner support in response to China's escalating assertiveness.
Moreover, PM Modi's visit to the US comes a few months before the G20 summit, which will be hosted by India in September.
Not the First Biden-Modi Meeting
In 2021, Prime Minister Modi visited President Biden at the White House, but it was in the context of the Quad summit, which brought the United States, Australia, Japan, and India together, rather than being a comprehensive state visit.
The Indian PM is also scheduled to join Biden as well as his Australian and Japanese counterparts during the Quad leaders summit on 24 May, in Sydney. Moreover, reports said that Modi is also likely to visit Hiroshima in Japan to attend the Group of Seven (G7) advanced economies summit from 19 to 21 May.
The pair also met on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Bali, Indonesia, in November 2022. They had another meeting during the G7 Summit in Germany in June 2022. Prior to that, in May, the two leaders met on the sidelines of the Quad Leaders Summit held in Tokyo.
National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and his US counterpart Jake Sullivan had also launched the India-US initiative on Critical and Emerging Technologies back in February, describing it as the "next big thing" in the bilateral partnership between the two countries.
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