Last Updated: June 23, 2023, 23:55 IST
Washington D.C., United States of America (USA)
PM Modi raising a toast to India-US friendship at the State Luncheon. (Photo: AP)
On the last day of his US visit, the prime minister raised a toast to the India-US friendship and wished for peace and prosperity of the citizens of the two nations.
After back-to-back events on his historic US tour, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday attended a luncheon hosted by the State Department, and everyone agrees to one common theme: ‘India and US ties and friendship should further deepen.”
The prime minister also raised a toast to the India-US friendship and wished for peace and prosperity of the citizens of the two nations.
US Vice President Kamala Harris and Secretary of State Antony Blinken welcomed PM Modi to the lunch and shared the stage with him.
PM Modi began his address by thanking Harris and Blinken for the grand welcome and the warm words and highlighted several examples of how India and US are connected in people to people ties.
“In the last 3 days, I participated in numerous meetings. In all these meetings, one thing was common. Everyone agreed that friendship and cooperation should further deepen between the people of India and US,” PM Modi said.
Here’s what PM Modi said in his address
- “I would like to thank VP Kamala Harris & Secretary Blinken for this grand welcome. I extend my heartfelt gratitude to you for your warm words. Today, I am delighted to be before you once again at the State Department,” PM Modi said.
- “In the last 3 days, I participated in numerous meetings. In all these meetings, one thing was common. Everyone agreed that friendship and cooperation should further deepen between the people of India & US,” he said.
- PM further talked about examples of ties between the two countries by speaking about VP Harris’ mother Dr Shyamala Gopalan who migrated to the states 1958 and how despite being away from her motherland she continued to stay in contact with her family through letters.
- “She never severed her ties with India… India was close to her despite being thousands of miles away,” Modi said.
- Modi further said that Kamala has taken her mother’s legacy forward in a way that she is now an inspiration to millions of women around the world.
- “Your achievements are a major inspiration not only for the US but also for women in India and across the world,” he said.
- “Your contribution to strengthening our strategic partnership has been incredible….The sweet melody of the India-US relationship is composed of our people-to-people relations,” he said.
Before the luncheon, PM Modi along with US President Joe Biden met CEOs from both top US and Indian technology companies at the Hi-Tech Handshake event at the White House.
Prominent figures such as Apple CEO Tim Cook, Google CEO Sundar Pichai, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and Indian tycoons including chairman of Reliance Industries Mukesh Ambani and chairman of Mahindra Group Anand Mahindra were observed in attendance at the event.
