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PM Modi US Visit Highlights: New and proud journey of India-US ties has begun, says PM Modi

Pm modi in us highlights: pm modi addressed a gathering of diaspora leaders from across the country and left for cairo..

PM Modi US Visit 2023 Highlights: Prime Minister wrapped up his three-day visit to the United States with an address to the Indian community members. Cheering up the crowd, he said that people of Indian origin will not have to leave the US for getting H-1B visa renewal, PTI reported. He departed for Cairo for his first state visit to Egypt.

He also emphasised that a new and proud journey of India-US ties has begun and the world is watching the two great democracies strengthening their bond.

Before that, he met with top CEOs at the White House in Washington, news agency PTI reported. On Friday, he said the India-US partnership is not of convenience but one of conviction, shared commitments and compassion.

In his address to young entrepreneurs and professionals at the John F Kennedy Center here, Modi said whenever India has become strong, the world has benefited.

United States president Joe Biden , Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani, Google CEO Sundar Pichai, Mahindra and Mahindra chairman Anand Mahindra, American astronaut Sunita Williams attended the meeting. He is set to meet US Vice President Kamala Harris and Secretary of State Antony Blinken. PM Modi will also address a gathering of diaspora leaders from across the country. Scroll down for the latest updates!

Meanwhile, during a state dinner on Thursday, PM Modi and US President Joe Biden hailed a new era in their countries’ relationship. “Two great nations, two great friends, and two great powers. Cheers,” Biden told Modi in a toast at the state dinner. “You are soft spoken, but when it comes to action, you are very strong,” PM Modi replied. On the guest list at the state dinner were several top executives from across the world, including Reliance Industries Chairman and MD Mukesh Ambani, Apple ’s Tim Cook and Google CEO Sunday Pichai.

Underlining that India and the US come from different circumstances and history, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said that this visit is one of the “great positive transformation ” and together they will demonstrate that “democracy is better and democracies deliver”. Modi, who addressed the joint session of the US Congress for almost an hour punctuated by applause and standing ovation for the second time, said, “When I was here in 2016, I said that our relationship is primed for a momentous future. That future is today.”

PM Modi US Visit Highlights: PM Modi meets US President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden at White House, attend State dinner | Scroll down for the latest updates

Derek O’Brien writes: The speech I wish Prime Minister Modi gave in the US

As a representative of the world’s largest democracy and an emissary of its goodwill to the world’s oldest democracy, I am honoured and delighted to be speaking once again before you. For democratic republics such as India and the United States, chambers and buildings such as this one — the Houses of Congress on Capitol Hill here in Washington, DC, and Parliament House in New  Delhi — are embodiments of popular sovereignty, repositories of the people’s trust and monuments blessed with the sacredness of a church, a temple, or indeed a mosque. Read more

Express View on PM Modi’s US visit: No longer defensive

When he addressed the joint session of the US Congress seven years ago this month, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had declared that India had ended its “historic hesitations” in dealing with the United States. Modi’s claim had credibility, given his record on improving relations with the US during the first two years as prime minister. In the years that followed, PM Modi took consistent steps to expand the engagement with the US. Read more

A footnote once, tech is the new driver of India-US diplomacy

The incredibly ambitious agenda for technology cooperation — ranging from artificial intelligence to outer space and quantum computing to telecommunications — unveiled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Joe Biden has the potential to transform the character of India-US bilateral relations and contribute to the restructuring of the regional and global order.

In a joint statement issued after the talks at the White House, the two leaders committed their governments to “facilitate greater technology sharing, co-development, and co-production opportunities between U.S. and Indian industry, government, and academic institutions.” They also directed the two bureaucracies to make “regular efforts to address export controls” and “enhance high technology commerce” between the two nations. C Raja Mohan explains

PM Modi shares glimpses of his US visit

PM Modi tweeted, "Concluding a very special USA visit, where I got to take part in numerous programmes and interactions aimed at adding momentum to the India-USA friendship. Our nations will keep working together to make our planet a better place for the coming generations."

Attended a vibrant program celebrating our Indian diaspora. A heartfelt tribute to the strength, diversity and contribution of our overseas community. Their passion is our pride! pic.twitter.com/0CnlzIUm4K — Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) June 24, 2023

'US govt decided to return more than 100 antiquities stolen from India'

During his address to the diaspora , PM Modi also mentioned that the US government has decided to return antiquities stolen from India. “I am happy that the American government has decided to return more than 100 antiquities of India that were stolen from us. These antiquities had reached the international markets. I express my gratitude to the American government for this,” he said.

'Delighted to interact with the diaspora': PM Modi

'The India-USA partnership is driven by conviction and compassion. It is also a friendship that has bipartisan support,' PM Modi tweeted

Delighted to interact with the diaspora at the community programme in Washington DC. https://t.co/zc9HODeLX5 — Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) June 23, 2023

New and proud journey of India-US ties has begun: PM Modi

Wrapping up his four-day State Visit to the US, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday asserted that a new and proud journey of India-US ties has begun and the world is watching the two great democracies strengthening their bond. Addressing a cheerful gathering of Indian community members, Modi said the full potential of partnership between the two countries is yet to be realised and their ties is all about making the world better again in the 21st century, PTI reported

The two countries have seen convergence on global issues and their growing ties will be a boost for "make in India and make for world" efforts, he said, referring to agreements on technology transfer, boosting manufacturing and strengthening industrial supply chain.Both countries are taking strong steps for a better future, said the prime minister at the community address, which was the last programme of Modi in the US. He will now fly to Egypt on a State Visit at the invitation of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi. He announced that people of Indian origin will not have to leave the US for getting H-1B visa renewal, drawing massive praise from people present in the hall and outside listening to him.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said the India-US partnership is not of convenience but one of conviction, shared commitments and compassion.In his address to young entrepreneurs and professionals at the John F Kennedy Center here, Modi said whenever India has become strong, the world has benefited.The prime minister said this was seen during the Covid pandemic. When the world needed medicines, India increased its production and provided medicines, he said at the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum, according to PTI reports.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has applauded Vice President Kamala Harris for her achievements, saying she was an inspiration to women across the world including India and the United States. According to PTI, Modi also heaped praise on Harris’ mother and said she kept her relationship with India alive despite living thousands of miles away.“Madam Vice President, you have taken this inspiration today to newer heights. Your achievements are an inspiration to not only the women in America but to women in India and women all across the world. This is really inspiring,” Modi said in his remarks at a State Department luncheon hosted in his honor by Harris and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken Friday.

US Vice President Kamala Harris on Friday praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his commitment to strengthening US-India ties, as she along with Secretary of State Antony Blinken hosted a luncheon for the Indian leader at the State Department.

Prime Minister Modi is currently in Washington on a state visit at the invitation of President Joe Biden. The two leaders held a historic summit on Thursday. Biden also held a state dinner for him on Thursday.

"Prime Minister Modi, President Joe Biden and I are grateful for your commitment to strengthening the ties...between the United States and India. And we share that commitment under your leadership and that of President Biden our partnership has become more expansive than it has ever been," she said.

Harris said over the past two and a half years she along with Prime Minister Modi advanced cooperation on climate change on clean energy, terrorism, cybercrime, public health and vaccine production.

"And during this trip, our countries have launched new areas of cooperation from artificial intelligence to semiconductors. As we look toward the future, the United States and India, the world's oldest and largest democracies, instinctively turn to each other and are increasingly aligned," Harris said.

Harris also mentioned her mother Shyamala Gopalan, a breast cancer scientist who hailed from Chennai, during her address.

She also spoke about her deep connection to India and her grandfather.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Friday that the combination of technology and talent will be a guarantee for a bright future for the world.

Modi made the remark at the India-US Hi-Tech handshake event organised at the White House and attended by US President Joe Biden and CEOs of top Indian and American companies.

"This morning (meeting) is only among a few friends but has brought with it the guarantee of a bright future," he said as President Biden nodded.

Modi, who is on a state visit to the US, also stressed that there is a great opportunity for everyone to take along Biden's vision and capabilities and India's aspirations and possibilities.

United States president Joe Biden Friday addressed the top CEOs at a meeting in Washington, news agency PTI reported.

VIDEO | US President Joe Biden addresses top CEOs during a meeting in Washington. #PMModiUSVisit pic.twitter.com/cdDWzRHJ4t — Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) June 23, 2023

Prime Minister Narendra Modi held one-on-one meeting with top CEOs in Washington, news agency PTI reported. United States president Joe Biden, Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani, Google CEO Sundar Pichai, Mahindra and Mahindra chairman Anand Mahindra, American astronaut Sunita Williams attended the meeting, the news agency reported.

VIDEO | PM Modi holds one-on-one meeting with top CEOs in Washington. #PMModiUSVisit pic.twitter.com/u6Nbu3rsGX — Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) June 23, 2023

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit the historic Al-Hakim Mosque during his two-day State visit to Egypt.

The visit is set to begin from June 24 (Friday). The visit to Cairo, the first by Modi as Prime Minister, comes weeks after Egypt skipped the G20 working group meeting in Srinagar along with China, Turkey and Saudi Arabia.

PM Modi will be visiting the historic Al-Hakim Mosque on his two-day State visit to Egypt which is set to begin from June 24. PTI will be on ground to bring you all the latest visuals from PM's visit. pic.twitter.com/nwPXsBQdB8 — Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) June 23, 2023

Dear Readers,

While  addressing the US Congress , Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi stated that when he first visited the US as the PM, India was the world’ 10th largest economy and eight years later it is the fifth-largest economy of the world. Further, he said that soon India will be the world’s third-largest economy in the world.

This categorisation of economies is based on aggregate GDP levels stated in current US dollar terms. In other words, one calculates the market value of all goods and services that are produced in every country in a year and then expresses it in terms of US dollars.

CHART 1 shows the top 10 economies by size and their GDP level in trillions of dollars. There is a vast gap between the US and China, which occupy the first two slots, and the rest of the field. Udit Misra explains.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) today hailed Prime Minister Narendra Modi's trip to United States as "unprecedented," saying that several diplomatic and strategic decisions taken during the visit shall help build a "new India" with economic progress, news agency PTI reported.

BJP leader and Union Minister Smriti Irani, addressing a press conference at party's headquarters, said that the visit has led to "significant outcomes" in defence sector, mong others. "Fifteen standing ovations and over a hundred applause to the prime minister's speech at the US Congress, this was not only the hallmark of the prime minister's visit to the US but what is unprecedented is the Indo-US partnership in many critical areas which will help serve a better future the Indian populace," she added.

"Several diplomatic and strategic decisions were taken during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the US which will help build a new India with the resolve of Atmanirbhar Bharat, and provide opportunities of economic progress to Indians," she said.

Irani said that NASA and ISRO will develop a "strategic framework" for human space flight cooperation by the end of 2023, and a joint Indo-US quantum coordination mechanism will help facilitate collaboration between the industry, academic and government, according to the report.

"Those who want to deflect attention from the prime minister's personal efforts undertaken in strategic cooperation in defence, artificial intelligence, ecosystem of semiconductor assembly line and critical mineral engagements would like to raise the minority bogey," she charged. As the general elections come closer such "political gas-lighting" is expected, she claimed. "What I am grateful to is the prime minister's steadfast focus on issues that are critical to Indian economy," she added, the report said. (PTI)

The decision of the United States and India to end six major trade disputes at World Trade Organization (WTO) is a "big victory" and will be mutually beneficial for both countries, India's Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said, news agency PTI reported.

The resumption of talks at the Trade Policy Forum has started yielding significant results, Goyal said. New Delhi will also remove retaliatory customs duties on certain American products such as almonds, walnuts, and apples, according to the report.

A joint statement issued after the meeting of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Joe Biden in Washington said the two leaders welcomed the resolution of six outstanding WTO disputes through mutually agreed solutions. "It is a big victory for India and is a mutually beneficial arrangement for both countries," Goyal told the reporters. He said, now there are no pending India-US disputes at WTO.

"So, India and the US by the end of this year will have no disputes. All the six major ones have gone," the minister said adding "for the first time bilaterally we are ending the disputes." In 2015, India lost a long-pending dispute over poultry imports from the US at WTO's dispute settlement body. India had 12 months to comply with the WTO order. The US had sought trade sanctions against India in this case.

The six disputes include countervailing measures on certain hot-rolled carbon steel flat products from India, certain measures relating to solar cells and modules, measures relating to the renewable energy sector, export-related measures, certain measures on steel and aluminium products, and additional duties on some products from the US. (PTI)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi held  high-level talks  with US President Joe Biden at the White House on Thursday, following which the latter described the ties between the two nations as “stronger than ever.”

Modi, who is on his maiden ‘ state visit’  to the United States, also  addressed  the US Congress – becoming the first Indian prime minister to do so twice. “When India grows, it influences and uplifts everyone,” he told the American parliament.

In the evening, the Bidens hosted a grand  state banquet in Modi’s honour – a celebrity-studded affair attended by top Indian and American leaders. Read more

In a decision that will bring the two countries’ space programmes closer than ever before,   India on Thursday signed on to the three-year-old Artemis Accords , a US-led alliance seeking to facilitate international collaboration in planetary exploration and research.

In a related development, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will partner the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) of the US in sending a joint mission to the International Space Station, a permanent laboratory in space, next year. It was not immediately clear whether the joint mission would include an Indian astronaut to the space station. Read more

As Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s first State visit to the US unfolded and he met President Joe Biden, the announcement of a mega deal between the  General Electric Aerospace and the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited  for the manufacture under licence in India of GE’s F414 engine for the indigenous Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas Mk2 sent a clear message – the beginning of the end of the technology denial regime.

Besides jet engines, deals on procuring drones, a space mission and manufacturing chips in India are among the big-ticket announcements. Read more

Mary Millben, a prominent African-American Hollywood actress and singer will perform on Friday at the concluding event for the Official State Visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, news agecy PTI reported. 

Millben is popular in India for her singing of the National Anthem Jan Gana Mana and Om Jai Jagdiseh Hare. She will perform the Indian national anthem at an invitation-only, diaspora event hosted by the United States Indian Community Foundation (USICF) at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington DC.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday attended the US state dinner hosted by US President at White House where both the leaders expressed that the occasion celebrates great bonds of friendship between India and the United States.

They hailed a new era in their nation’s relationship and spoke about deals on defence and commerce, which are aimed at countering China’s influence. Read more

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's first State visit to the US will take bilateral ties in areas of space, defence, emerging technology and supply chains to the next level, Vice President Kamala Harris has said.

Modi became the first Indian leader to address the joint session of the US Congress twice on Thursday. He first addressed a joint meeting of the US Congress in 2016.

"The US-India partnership is stronger than ever. Together, our nations will shape the future as we work to create a more prosperous, secure, and healthy world," Harris' office tweeted on Thursday. (PTI)

Welcome, @narendramodi . The partnership between the United States and India is one of the most important of the 21st century, and this visit will take our partnership to the next level — from space, to defense, to emerging technology and supply chains. pic.twitter.com/B55N16jRt7 — Vice President Kamala Harris (@VP) June 22, 2023

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has lauded the members of the US Congress for coming together to celebrate their country's ties with India, saying there must be a contest of ideas at home but people must also come together as one while speaking for the nation.

Modi's remarks in his address to a joint session of the US Congress on Thursday came against the backdrop of Rahul Gandhi's frequent swipes at his government during his visits abroad, which the ruling BJP has often projected as the opposition leader's bid to malign the country from foreign soil to target the central government.  (PTI) 

"Prime Minister's visit to the United States has resulted in significant outcomes in the areas of defence, renewable energy and critical mineral cooperation, to name a few," Union Minister Smriti Irani said while addressing a press conference at BJP headquarters in New Delhi.

She further said that the MoU on semiconductor supply chain and innovation partnership will promote not only research but commercial opportunities as well.

Union Minister Smt. @smritiirani addresses a press conference at party headquarters in New Delhi. https://t.co/RTuCm1lcB0 — BJP (@BJP4India) June 23, 2023

Top American lawmakers have applauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his address to the Joint Meeting of the US Congress that called for deepening the strong friendship between the two democracies, fostered by a range of close economic ties and expanded cooperation on areas like defence, trade and technology.

Representing 1.4 billion Indians, Modi who addressed the US Congress on Thursday, said it is always a great honour and an exceptional privilege to address the US Congress twice. This is the second time that the prime minister has addressed the US Congress, the first time being in 2016. (PTI) 

Big names in the tech world and billionaire industrialists such as Mukesh Ambani, Google CEO Sunder Pichai and Apple CEO Tim Cook were among those invited to the State Dinner hosted in the honour of Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the White House on Thursday.

The menu, comprising mostly vegetarian dishes, taking note of the dietary restrictions of the visiting prime minister, included marinated millets, stuffed mushrooms, grilled corn kernel salad and cardamom-infused strawberry shortcake.

More than 400 guests were invited for the dinner hosted by US President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden at a specially decorated pavilion on the South Lawn of the White House. (PTI)

Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra has said that technology cooperation featured prominently in the discussion between India and the US and described it as one of the most substantive outcomes of the ongoing state visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

"Very clearly, technology, in particular advanced technology, across all domains ranging from defence to space and energy is one of the most important substantive outcomes," he told reporters in a media briefing on Thursday.

"Technology featured in talks, not in a limited way but technology cooperation across the ecosystem. This included technology transfer, services and working together in research among other domains," he added. (PTI)

During the official state dinner at the White House PM Narendra Modi talked about the growing popularity of Cricket in the US.

"Amidst the love for Baseball, Cricket is also getting popular in the US. The American team is trying their best to qualify for the Cricket World Cup to be held in India later this year. I wish them good luck and success," PM Modi said.

#WATCH | Amidst the love for Baseball, Cricket is also getting popular in the US. The American team is trying their best to qualify for the Cricket World Cup to be held in India later this year. I wish them good luck and success: PM Modi during the official State Dinner at The… pic.twitter.com/996i2fkdJx — ANI (@ANI) June 23, 2023

Plant-based   courses of millet and stuffed mushrooms were on the menu for some 400 guests invited to Thursday’s fancy White House state dinner honoring Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Modi is a vegetarian and first lady Jill Biden enlisted California-based chef Nancy Curtis, who specializes in plant-based cooking, to help in the kitchen. Biden previewed the menu and decor for the news media on Wednesday after she returned from an outing with the prime minister. Read more

On Thursday (local time), 'Naatu Naatu' was highlighted by PM Narendra Modi in a special address during the State dinner at the White House.

"With every passing day, Indians and Americans are getting to know each other better. We can pronounce each other's name correctly, we can understand each other's accent better... Children in India become Spider-Man on Halloween and America's youth is dancing to the tunes of 'Naatu Naatu'," PM Modi said. (ANI)

#WATCH | Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra briefs about Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ongoing State visit to the USA pic.twitter.com/vPuK2IpYr0 — ANI (@ANI) June 23, 2023

Acknowledging the progress made by Indian Americans in the United States, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that they have played a significant role in further strengthening the inclusive society and economy of the US.

During his speech at the state dinner held at the White House, PM Modi said, "Indian Americans have come a long way in the US and have always found a respectful place in America's melting pot. Indian Americans have played a significant role in further strengthening the inclusive society and economy of the US." He also thanked US President Joe Biden for hosting a wonderful dinner and making the visit successful. (ANI)

#WATCH | US Congressmen lined up to take autographs and selfies with Prime Minister Narendra Modi after his address to the joint sitting of the US Congress, earlier today. pic.twitter.com/wkPdacGjHN — ANI (@ANI) June 23, 2023

US President Joe Biden by his side, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Thursday that “democracy is in our DNA”, and “there is absolutely no question of discrimination” regardless of “caste, creed, religion and gender”. He was responding to a journalist’s question about what steps his government is willing to take to improve the rights of minorities in India and to uphold free speech.

At the joint press conference where the leaders took questions from one reporter from each side, Biden, on being asked about raising issues of human rights and democracy with the visiting Prime Minister, said, “Prime Minister and I had a good discussion about democratic values… and that is the best part of our relationship. We are straightforward with each other and we respect each other.” Read more

In an almost one hour speech to the US Congress, Prime Minister Narendra Modi touched upon a variety of themes. They were met with applause and standing ovation several times by the US Congress members, including Vice President Kamala Harris.

The speech this time was longer in duration than last time, which was about 45 minutes in 2016.

Here are the 15 key takeaways from the PM’s speech

PM Naredra Modi thanked US President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden for hosting the State Dinner in his honour at the White House. "I extend my heartfelt appreciation to US President Joe Biden for hosting this remarkable dinner today. I would also like to express my sincere thanks to First Lady Jill Biden for her exceptional hospitality and diligent efforts in ensuring the success of my visit," says Modi.

#WATCH | I want to thank US President Joe Biden for this wonderful dinner today. I would also like to thank First Lady Jill Biden for taking care of my visit to make it successful. Yesterday evening you opened the doors of your house for me: PM Modi during the official State… pic.twitter.com/ZQqzZV2kz5 — ANI (@ANI) June 23, 2023

Jill and I thoroughly enjoyed our time with Prime Minister Modi today, expresses US President Joe Biden. Tonight, we are celebrating the exceptional bonds of friendship between India and the United States, he added.

VIDEO | 'Tonight it's a fitting way to celebrate,' says US President Joe Biden as he hosts PM Modi for State Dinner at the White House. #PMModiUSVisit pic.twitter.com/Bvvw8tK9q1 — Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) June 23, 2023

US President Joe Biden, accompanied by First Lady Jill Biden and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, make their way towards the venue for the State Dinner at the White House.

#WATCH | US President Joe Biden, First Lady Jill Biden and Prime Minister Narendra Modi head towards the venue for the State dinner at the White House. pic.twitter.com/IRlOuP4H72 — ANI (@ANI) June 22, 2023

Guests continue to arrive arriving at the White House ahead of the State Dinner hosted for PM Modi. Google CEO Sundar Pichai, US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella are in attendance.

VIDEO | More visuals of guests arriving at the White House ahead of the State Dinner hosted for PM Modi. #PMModiUSVisit pic.twitter.com/giMSq5Frcb — Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) June 22, 2023

Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrives at the White House for State Dinner.

VIDEO | PM Modi poses for shutterbugs with US President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden ahead of the State Dinner hosted for him at the White House. #PMModiUSVisit pic.twitter.com/RZQkfTKsPX — Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) June 22, 2023

Prime Minister Modi categorically stated that terrorism is an enemy of humanity. PM Modi stressed the importance of confronting terrorism head-on while speaking to the joint session of the US Congress.

He said that radicalization and terrorism continue to pose serious challenges to the entire world even 20 years after 9/11 and 10 years after the 26/11 terrorist attacks in Mumbai. 

It is essential for us to defeat any organisations that sponsor and export terrorism, adds Modi.

Terrorism is an enemy of humanity and there can be no ifs and buts in dealing with it. We must overcome all such forces sponsoring and exporting terror: Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressing the joint sitting of the US Congress pic.twitter.com/mxfKyg6E1U — ANI (@ANI) June 22, 2023

Speaking to the US Congress' joint session, the prime minister declared that India had reached a critical milestone by becoming the only G20 nation to carry out its obligation under the Paris Agreement.

India has outperformed expectations by achieving its objective of using more than 40% renewable energy sources, which was attained nine years earlier than the initial target date of 2030, said PM Modi.

#WATCH | "...We became the only G20 country to meet its Paris commitment. We made renewables account for over 40% of our energy sources 9 years ahead of the target of 2030. But we did not stop there. At the Glasgow Summit, I proposed mission LiFE...Our mission is pro-planet… pic.twitter.com/6qnS29U4ZI — ANI (@ANI) June 22, 2023

PM Modi stresses the urgent need to put an end to the bloodshed in the Ukraine war, urging for all possible efforts to be made in order to achieve that.

PM Modi said that India lives by the motto of 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam' — that the world is one family. He emphasized that it is the same attitude that India highlights as it chairs the G20 Summit.

In modern India, women are at the forefront of shaping a better future, says PM Modi during his address to the joint session of the US Congress.

He highlights that India's vision extends beyond mere development that benefits women; it encompasses a paradigm of women-led development, where women take charge of the journey towards progress.

#WATCH | "...today in modern India, women are leading us to a better future. India's vision is not just of development that benefits women. It is of women-led development where women lead the journey of progress. A woman has risen from a humble tribal background to be our Head of… pic.twitter.com/VwvucEA6VX — ANI (@ANI) June 22, 2023

Referring to the example of Draupadi Murmu, PM Modi applauded the ascent of a woman from a tribal background to become the President of India.

#WATCH | '...today in modern India, women are leading us to a better future. India's vision is not just of development that benefits women. It is of women-led development where women lead the journey of progress. A woman has risen from a humble tribal background to be our Head of… pic.twitter.com/VwvucEA6VX — ANI (@ANI) June 22, 2023

When I first visited the US as Prime Minister, India held the position of the 10th largest economy globally. Today, I am proud to announce that India has risen to become the 5th largest economy. And I assure you, we are on track to become the third-largest economy in the near future. Not only are we expanding in size, but we are also growing at an accelerated pace, adds PM Modi.

He asserts that India's progress and economic growth have far-reaching implications, benefiting not only the nation itself but also having an impact on the entire world. When India grows, it influences and uplifts everyone, says PM Modi during his address to the joint session of the US Congress.

#WATCH | 'When I first visited the US as a PM, India was the 10th largest economy in the world. Today, India is the 5th largest economy. India will be the 3rd largest economy soon. We are not only growing bigger but we are also growing faster. When India grows the whole world… pic.twitter.com/saO9qgM7IA — ANI (@ANI) June 22, 2023

Democracy is a sacred and shared value embraced by both India and the United States. He acknowledges that throughout history, it has been evident that democracy upholds the principles of equality and dignity, says PM Modi. Democracy, according to him, is not just an idea, but a vibrant spirit that encourages open discussions and debates. It is deeply ingrained in the cultural fabric of both nations.

PM Modi further emphasizes that India is fortunate to have cherished these democratic values since time immemorial. He affirms the commitment to work together with the United States in order to create a brighter future for the world. By fostering democracy and upholding its values, the Prime Minister believes that they can collectively contribute to a better world for generations to come.

#WATCH | Democracy is one of our sacred and shared values. Throughout history, one thing has been clear, democracy is the spirit that supports equality and dignity. Democracy is the idea that welcomes debate and discourse. Democracy is the culture that gives wings to thought and… pic.twitter.com/UmikrInO2V — ANI (@ANI) June 22, 2023

Prime Minister Narendra Modi asserts that the foundation of America is inspired by the vision of a nation of equal citizens. He emphasises the presence of millions of people with Indian ancestors throughout the country, some of whom are proudly seated in the chamber, including one directly behind him, pointing to the Indian origin of US Vice President Kamala Harris.

#WATCH | 'I can relate to the battles of patience, persuasion and policy. I can understand the debate of ideas and ideology. But I am delighted to see you come together to celebrate the bonds between two great democracies - India and the United States,' PM Narendra Modi addresses… pic.twitter.com/VwS6T7sj1D — ANI (@ANI) June 22, 2023

Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrives at the US House of Representatives, where he is warmly welcomed by the enthusiastic chants of 'Modi Modi'.

Vice President Kamala Harris arrives at the US House of Representatives. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will shortly address the Joint Session of the United States Congress.

#WATCH | US Vice President Kamala Harris arrives at the US House of Representatives, ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's address to the joint session of the US Congress. pic.twitter.com/2M50A7NHhk — ANI (@ANI) June 22, 2023

Prior to his address to the Joint Session of the United States Congress, Prime Minister Narendra Modi meets with Speaker of the House of Representatives Kevin McCarthy at the US Capitol.

#WATCH | Prime Minister Narendra Modi meets Speaker of the House of Representatives Kevin McCarthy at the US Capitol. (Source: Speaker's office) pic.twitter.com/X4VacW1rEz — ANI (@ANI) June 22, 2023

Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrives at Capitol Hill, where he will address the Joint Session of the United States Congress.

#WATCH | Washington, DC | Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrives at Capitol Hill where he will address the Joint Sitting of the US Congress shortly. pic.twitter.com/82IR0bbtQF — ANI (@ANI) June 22, 2023

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the Joint Session of the United States Congress shortly. Outside Capitol Hill, members of the Indian diaspora are waiting for PM Modi.

Washington, DC | Members of the Indian diaspora stand outside Capitol Hill, as they await the arrival of PM Narendra Modi. PM will address the Joint Sitting of the US Congress shortly. pic.twitter.com/ZQf4XvX3kt — ANI (@ANI) June 22, 2023

PM Modi claims that the two countries' economic relationship is booming, with trade nearly doubling over the last decade to approach $191 billion.

He emphasises that this expansion has resulted in the development of tens of thousands of high-quality jobs in both India and the United States. PM Modi goes on to say that as a result of this strong economic alliance, one million American jobs in 44 states will be supported.

#WATCH | Our economic relationship is booming. Trade between our countries has almost doubled over the past decade to more than $191 billion supporting tens of thousands of good jobs in both India and the United States. One million American jobs across 44 states will be supported… pic.twitter.com/apMtQDCPQZ — ANI (@ANI) June 22, 2023

At a joint press conference with US President Joe Biden at the White House, PM Modi declares that the partnership between India and the US knows no bounds.

“Even Sky isn’t the limit for India and US partnership. Indian-Americans are the real strength between India and the US and their relations”, says PM Modi at a joint PC with US President Joe Biden at the White House. #PMModiUSVisit pic.twitter.com/Hfiq35dEP1 — Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) June 22, 2023

PM Modi acknowledges that Indian-Americans are the true backbone of the India-US relationship, emphasizing their vital role in strengthening the ties between the two nations.

PM Modi expressed his surprise regarding the statements made about discrimination against religious minorities, emphasizing the deeply ingrained democratic values in both India and America.

The PM highlighted that democracy is an integral part of their national identity and shared heritage, flowing through their veins and spirits. Modi affirmed that democracy is not just a concept but a living reality manifested in their constitutions and governments.

Democracy can deliver and when we talk about democracy, there is no discrimination on basis of caste, creed, religion etc: PM Modi — Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) June 22, 2023

US President Joe Biden underlines that the partnership between the United States and India as one of the most significant in the world, with unprecedented strength, closeness, and dynamism compared to any other time in history.

President Biden revealed that Indian companies are declaring over $2 billion in investments in the United States during Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Washington.

The partnership is among the most consequential in the world that is stronger, closer and more dynamic in any time in history: US President Joe Biden issues joint press statement with PM Narendra Modi pic.twitter.com/PtXpFW9LiW — ANI (@ANI) June 22, 2023

US President Joe Biden and PM Modi enter the East Room of the White House for a joint press briefing.

US President Joe Biden and PM Modi arrive at the East Room of the White House for joint press briefing. #PMModiUSVisit pic.twitter.com/hy4fYhnO5c — Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) June 22, 2023

India-US relationship is not only important for both the nations but also for the world. Today holds a special importance in history of India-US relations today, we discussed several regional and global issues during our meeting: PM Modi

The India-US relationship is reaching a new high point. But the significance of  Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s trip  to the US will be obscured by short-term political framings. There will be the sheer political theatre of the US courting India and the Prime Minister leveraging this moment to shore up his domestic political legitimacy. There will be the disappointment of those who think the Biden Administration is actually going out of its way to give its imprimatur on the state of India’s democracy. But “democracy” was not going to be an issue in this phase of India-US relations.

PRATAP BHANU MEHTA WRITES | Making of a high point

PM Modi will address a joint session of the US Congress on June 22 , becoming the first Indian prime minister to be accorded this honour twice. Before him, only a handful of Indian PMs have given speeches to US Congressmen and Congresswomen. Here is a look at all those addresses and the context in which they were delivered.

Who are the Indian PMs who have addressed US Congress in the past? Read here

State visits are the highest-ranked category of foreign visits to the US, where the head of a state visits the US on the formal invitation of the US President. Before Modi, the only two state visits under President Joe Biden have been by France’s President Emmanuel Macron and South Korea’s President Yoon Suk Yeol. Invitation for a state visit signifies that the US considers the guest nation an important friend and ally.

Express Explained | What is a state dinner, which he will attend at the White House?

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What to Know About Modi’s Visit and U.S.-India Relations

The visit has big implications for U.S.-India relations as President Biden seeks to shore up an alliance against Russia’s aggression and China’s economic influence.

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By Victoria Kim

Follow live updates as President Biden hosts Prime Minister Narendra Modi for meetings and a state dinner.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India will receive a lavish welcome on Thursday in Washington, where he will address a joint session of Congress and be feted by President Biden and the first lady in a state dinner at the White House — only the third state leader to be hosted by the current administration.

Swirling around the pageantry of a momentous visit for U.S.-India relations, seen as an affirmation of India’s rise as an economic and diplomatic power, will be weighty questions of geopolitical alignments with regard to China’s economic influence and Russia’s military aggression, as well as the erosion of India’s secular democracy under Mr. Modi. How much if any of that will be publicly addressed by the two leaders is unclear.

The visit is a significant diplomatic prize for Mr. Modi , who was once denied a visa to the United States for his role in religious riots in his home state, and as prime minister has increasingly consolidated power and edged his country closer to one-party rule.

Still, the Biden administration has painstakingly sought to draw India closer, economically and militarily, at the cost of muddling his oft-stated worldview of a pitched battle between autocracies and democracies .

Here is what to know about Mr. Modi’s state visit.

The U.S. is trying to draw India closer.

Announcing Mr. Modi’s state visit, the White House press secretary said the occasion would celebrate “the warm bonds of family and friendship that link Americans and Indians together.” Like his predecessors, Mr. Biden has leaned into the hope that India, the world’s most populous democracy and the fifth-largest economy, will serve as a counterweight to China’s growing global economic heft. Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen last year visited India as part of the administration’s push to shift global supply chains away from its political and economic adversaries.

“New Delhi has a pivotal role to play in checkmating China — if politically nudged, militarily helped and geopolitically encouraged by the U.S. and its allies,” said Happymon Jacob, who teaches Indian foreign policy at Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi.

The urgency for improved relations has intensified with Russia’s war on Ukraine, a geopolitical crisis that has placed India at the center of jostling between the United States and its allies and President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia. India, while fostering closer ties with the United States, has maintained military and economic relations with Russia, buying up Russian oil at a discount and staying away from backing United Nations resolutions that have condemned Russia’s aggression.

Defense cooperation is high on the agenda.

The United States wants to help India bolster its domestic defense industry and increase military cooperation between the two countries in an attempt to wean India off its long dependence on Russia for its weaponry. Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III and the national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, each traveled to New Delhi this month ahead of the state visit to lay the groundwork for closer defense partnerships.

A substantial majority of India’s arsenal is estimated to be of Russian origin , the result of a decades-long defense relationship between the two countries at a time when the United States was instead supplying weapons to India’s rival, Pakistan. While the proportion of Russian arms in India’s defense imports has decreased in recent years, the country still remains dependent on Russia for parts and maintenance.

Highlighting increased technological cooperation, military coordination and intelligence sharing between the two countries, Mr. Austin said during his New Delhi visit: “This all matters because we face a rapidly changing world. We see bullying and coercion from the People’s Republic of China, Russian aggression against Ukraine that seeks to redraw borders by force and threatens national sovereignty.”

Modi is accused of undermining democracy.

In hosting Mr. Modi, Mr. Biden will be standing shoulder to shoulder with a leader who is immensely popular in his country but has sidelined challengers , co-opted judicial systems and consolidated power to a degree that has concerned observers and critics about the democratic erosion in the nation that recently surpassed China to become the world’s most populous.

This week, more than 70 Democratic lawmakers urged the president in a letter to raise upholding democratic values and human rights with the Indian prime minister, citing “troubling signs in India toward the shrinking of political space, the rise of religious intolerance, the targeting of civil society organizations and journalists, and growing restrictions on press freedoms and internet access.”

Mr. Modi’s India has become particularly perilous for the nation’s more than 200 million religious minorities, as his right-wing vigilante supporters have fomented religious tensions with the aim of imposing Hindu supremacy on India’s constitutionally secular democracy. That’s led to a perpetual sense of combustibility on the ground, particularly for India’s Muslims.

In March, Rahul Gandhi, India’s best-known opposition leader and Mr. Modi’s chief rival, was convicted on a charge of defamation and sentenced to two years in prison. He filed an appeal and remains free, but the conviction allowed Mr. Modi’s allies to oust him from the country’s Parliament.

Mujib Mashal contributed reporting.

Victoria Kim is a correspondent based in Seoul, focused on international breaking news coverage. More about Victoria Kim

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Statement from White   House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on the Official State Visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi of the Republic of   India

President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden will host Prime Minister Narendra Modi of the Republic of India for an Official State Visit to the United States, which will include a state dinner, on June 22, 2023. The upcoming visit will affirm the deep and close partnership between the United States and India and the warm bonds of family and friendship that link Americans and Indians together. The visit will strengthen our two countries’ shared commitment to a free, open, prosperous, and secure Indo-Pacific and our shared resolve to elevate our strategic technology partnership, including in defense, clean energy, and space. The leaders will discuss ways to further expand our educational exchanges and people-to-people ties, as well as our work together to confront common challenges from climate change, to workforce development and health security.

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Joe Biden welcomed Narendra Modi to the White House on Thursday for a state visit during which the US and Indian leaders announced defence and technology deals, including a purchase of American spy drones.

Modi and Biden held talks in the Oval Office before giving a news conference — a rare event as the Indian prime minister has not held one in years. Biden told reporters that the partnership between the US and India was “stronger, closer and more dynamic than any time in history”, while Modi spoke of a “new chapter” in the strategic relationship between the two countries.

India’s prime minister will speak to Congress before attending a state banquet at the White House.

Speaking in front of hundreds of Indian Americans, Modi earlier described the welcome ceremony as “an honour and pride for [the] 1.4bn people of India”.

“The 1.4bn people of India wish with me for India’s tricolour and America’s stars and stripes to always keep flying higher and higher,” Modi said via a translator, before saying “God bless America” in English.

Modi is only the third world leader to make a state visit to the US since Biden took office. His speech to Congress will make him one of only a handful of leaders to address the House and Senate more than once.

Ahead of the visit, US officials said India would commit to buying armed MQ-9B SeaGuardian drones, which are produced by US defence contractor General Atomics. The leaders will also announce that memory chipmaker Micron will open a $2.75bn semiconductor assembly and test facility in India, which will include $800mn in investment from the US company.

“After years of strengthening ties in a bipartisan context, the US-India partnership is deeper and more expansive than . . . ever,” said a senior US official.

Biden and Modi also signed an agreement that will result in General Electric co-producing fighter jet engines in India , which the Biden administration described as a “trailblazing initiative”.

The agreements, which also include efforts to boost co-operation in space, mark a big push by Washington to draw New Delhi into its orbit as part of a strategy to work with allies and partners to counter China.

Since taking office, Biden has invested in boosting defence and security co-operation with New Delhi, including resurrecting the “Quad” security group that includes India, Japan and Australia.

While India maintains a non-aligned foreign policy, it has moved closer to the US amid rising tensions with China.

India and China have an unresolved dispute along their nearly 3,500km-long border, which last escalated into violence in May 2020 when Chinese and Indian troops clashed in the Galwan Valley.

American officials say the clashes have made India more willing to partner with Washington.

A US defence official this week said the security deals being announced during the visit would boost interoperability between the two militaries.

Asked what role India would play in the case of a conflict over Taiwan, the senior US official refused to provide specifics, but said the countries were working more closely on maritime and other contingencies.

“We are planning more together, we are training more together,” he said.

“We’re engaging in a variety of scenario developments,” he added. “You will see that co-operation will extend increasingly not just to the Indian Ocean but to the Pacific Ocean.”

Biden has come under criticism for granting Modi a state visit, given accusations from critics that Indian democracy is under threat from a squeeze on free expression and incitement of violence against minority Muslims and Christians.

The senior US official said Biden would approach discussions about human rights with “a degree of humility” and would not engage in “hectoring, lecturing or scolding”. After the meeting Biden said he had a “good discussion” with Modi about “democratic values” common to both countries.

Modi added: “Democracy runs in our veins, we live democracy.”

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International Edition

PM Modi US Visit Highlights: PM On High-Level Visit To US Arrives In Washington

Pm modi in us: the prime minister was welcomed by senior officials of the biden administration and india's envoy to the us taranjit singh sandhu..

PM Modi US Visit: Senior Biden officials and India's Envoy welcomed PM Modi in Washington

 Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who embarked on a high-level US visit on Wednesday at the invitation of President Joe Biden, is set to meet US Vice President Kamala Harris and global CEOs on the first day of his US visit today. The Prime Minister was welcomed by senior officials of the Biden administration and India's envoy to the US Taranjit Singh Sandhu.

The second meeting on PM Modi's agenda will be with Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison. PM Modi and his Australian counterpart also spoke on the phone last week to review the progress of India- Australia Comprehensive Partnership which includes the pertinent 2+2 dialogue. PM Modi will also attend the Quad summit and address the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).

Joe Biden will host PM Modi at the White House tomorrow - the first in-person meeting between the two leaders after Biden took over as the US President in January this year.

Here are the Live updates of PM Modi's US visit:

वाशिंगटन पहुंचे पीएम मोदी, भारतीय अमेरिकों ने किया स्वागत pic.twitter.com/rmnBP1QwO2 - NDTV Videos (@ndtvvideos) September 23, 2021

"Grateful to the Indian community in Washington DC for the warm welcome. Our diaspora is our strength. It is commendable how the Indian diaspora has distinguished itself across the world," tweets PM Narendra Modi pic.twitter.com/fXRif5I0oO - ANI (@ANI) September 23, 2021

Grateful to the Indian community in Washington DC for the warm welcome. Our diaspora is our strength. It is commendable how the Indian diaspora has distinguished itself across the world. pic.twitter.com/6cw2UR2uLH - Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) September 22, 2021

Landed in Washington DC. Over the next two days, will be meeting @POTUS @JoeBiden and @VP @KamalaHarris , Prime Ministers @ScottMorrisonMP and @sugawitter . Will attend the Quad meeting and would also interact with leading CEOs to highlight economic opportunities in India. pic.twitter.com/56pt7hnQZ8 - Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) September 22, 2021

Exuberant members of the Indian diaspora welcoming PM @narendramodi upon landing in Washington D.C. pic.twitter.com/cqELcYtMnN - Arindam Bagchi (@MEAIndia) September 22, 2021

US: PM Narendra Modi was received by India's Ambassador to the US Taranjit Singh Sandhu, along with the Defence attache incl Brigadier Anoop Singhal, Air Commodore Anjan Bhadra, naval attache Commodore Nirbhaya Bapna & US Dy Secy of State for Management &Resources TH Brian McKeon pic.twitter.com/KadTmLfvkB - ANI (@ANI) September 22, 2021

Always a matter of pride to see our 🇮🇳 away from India. The tricolour fluttering at the Joint Base Andrews in honour of PM @narendramodi . pic.twitter.com/qJSgpsdmcB - Arindam Bagchi (@MEAIndia) September 22, 2021

Namaste USA! PM @narendramodi was greeted on arrival by Shri Taranjit Singh Sandhu, Ambassador of India to USA and Mr. T. H. Brian McKeon, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources. pic.twitter.com/0sVCrP5Miu - Arindam Bagchi (@MEAIndia) September 22, 2021

US: Prime Minister Narendra Modi meets people who were waiting to welcome him at Joint Base Andrews in Washington DC pic.twitter.com/YkAWQSPCI3 - ANI (@ANI) September 22, 2021

#WATCH | Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrives at the airport at Andrews Airbase, United States pic.twitter.com/K2fJotDCfX - ANI (@ANI) September 22, 2021

#WATCH | United States: People hold the Indian National flag as they cheer & wait for Prime Minister Narendra Modi to arrive at Joint Base Andrews in Washington DC pic.twitter.com/aBGiFbcXZS - ANI (@ANI) September 22, 2021

US: People hold Indian National flags amid light showers as they wait for Prime Minister Narendra Modi to arrive at Joint Base Andrews in Washington DC pic.twitter.com/Hdvag5LwQ3 - ANI (@ANI) September 22, 2021

A long flight also means opportunities to go through papers and some file work. pic.twitter.com/nYoSjO6gIB - Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) September 22, 2021

Will also participate in the Quad with President @JoeBiden , PM @ScottMorrisonMP and PM @sugawitter . We will take stock of outcomes of Summit in March. I will also address UNGA focusing on the global challenges. https://t.co/FcuhlJbeSl - Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) September 22, 2021

At the invitation of @POTUS @JoeBiden , I am visiting USA to continue our dialogue, and exchange views on areas of mutual interest. Also looking forward to meet @VP @KamalaHarris to discuss global issues and explore ideas for cooperation between 🇮🇳🇺🇸. - Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) September 22, 2021

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Here's why Democrats and Republicans welcome a visit from right-wing Indian PM Narendra Modi

WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden and congressional leaders will roll out the red carpet for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday, as the right-wing Hindu nationalist leader arrives for an official state visit to the United States.

Modi will address a joint session of Congress and will be feted at a White House state dinner — a diplomatic honor usually reserved for close allies. On Sunday, many Indian Americans took to the streets in major cities across the country for an "India Unity Day" march to welcome Modi to the U.S.

The marches, organized by the American overseas arm of Modi's right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party, were a show of support for the controversial Indian leader who has faced criticism for presiding over human rights violations, an erosion of the country's democracy, and a crackdown in Indian-controlled Kashmir.

That Democrats and Republicans alike are honoring Modi this week demonstrates the White House and Congress are willing to overlook his right-wing populist agenda in the pursuit of a strategically important relationship that will allow the U.S. to counter China's influence .

Why the U.S. relationship with India is 'strategically important'

Meanwhile, Modi's political allies in Washington stepped up their lobbying efforts with members of Congress and the Biden administration ahead of his official state visit this week.

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Sanjay Puri, the chairman and founder of the bipartisan U.S.-India Political Action Committee (USINPAC), said that in their lobbying efforts, the group has sought to underscore that India is "the only democracy in that region" and emphasize that the rise of China resulted in the U.S.-India partnership becoming a "strategically important relationship."

"That's been our push," Puri said of the group's discussions with lawmakers ahead of Modi's visit. "It has resulted in, obviously, the [congressional] leadership asking him to come in and speak and also President Biden inviting him for a state dinner as well as several other activities around that."

In addition to combatting American criticism of the Indian government's human rights record, the welcome marches likely also sought to enhance Modi's political image at home ahead of a general election next year, according to Gautam Nair, a professor of public policy at the Harvard Kennedy School.

"This visit actually should buttress his domestic political standing," Nair, who was born and raised in India, said. "And these rallies sort of suggest, or help foster an image, that he is an international leader of stature as well."

Mukesh Aghi, president of the U.S.-India Strategic Partnership Forum, said the "the Indian diaspora is quite excited about what Modi is doing, excited about the direction of the country, and feel proud of their heritage."

Countering China

Modi's visit also comes just days after Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with senior Chinese officials in Beijing over the weekend, a bid to improve relations between the two superpowers after months of heightened tensions. Washington has increasingly looked to forge closer ties with New Delhi to counter China's rising political and economic influence.

Nair said he believes the rationale for giving Modi the star treatment during his visit to the United States is "quite clear."

"This extra effort is because traditionally India has been wary of forging formal alliances with great powers," Nair said. "This is reflected in the fact that on the one hand, defense ties, diplomatic ties, economic ties are deepening with the United States, and at the same time China is a huge trading partner for India."

Aghi said he expects Modi's visit to yield a deal that will allow General Electric to manufacture jet engines in India for the country's military aircrafts, in addition to fostering discussions on healthcare and artificial intelligence between the two countries.

"I think what we're seeing is a much more deeper collaboration on technology, investments, and defense," Aghi said.

How this U.S.-India partnership could be one of the most significant in a century

Rep. Ro Khanna , D-Calif., who serves as a co-chair of the U.S.-India congressional caucus, told USA TODAY he believes the "U.S.-India partnership will be one of the most significant of this century."

"We will be working to strengthen the technology and defense relationship and to promote scientific research and cooperation on climate change initiatives," Khanna said.

Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley , a 2024 Republican presidential candidate and the daughter of Indian immigrants, said she also welcomed the decision to invite Modi for an official state visit.

"India is a critically important country in the Indo-Pacific region and a natural ally of America with so many shared values and interests," Haley told USA TODAY. "It is entirely appropriate that Prime Minister Modi should address Congress and be celebrated at the White House."

Biden and American political leaders, however, have faced criticism for giving Modi the official state visit treatment without putting a stronger focus on the rollback of press freedoms in India and his government's treatment of minority Muslims and Christians.

"The relationship must be grounded on a respect for pluralism, an open internet, human rights and liberal democracy," Khanna said.

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PM Modi US visit: Dates, full schedule, events, agenda, and more

PM Modi's US visit would focus on strengthening ties, addressing mutual challenges, promoting trade relationships, and more

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Day 2, june 22: congress address, state reception, and state dinner, june 23: ceo meetings, lunch at state dept, and mega event for indian diaspora, june 24: pm modi will forge new paths in egypt.

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What’s behind Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s US visit?

The US is seeking stronger ties with India, which it sees as a vital ally in efforts to contain China’s rise.

The administration of United States President Joe Biden is scheduled to host Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during an official visit later this week, as the two countries strengthen their ties amid shared antipathy towards China’s growing influence.

The White House will hold a state dinner in Modi’s honour on June 22, a sign of the burgeoning relationship between the two powers who have stepped up cooperation in areas such as trade and arms sales.

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India, us agree on roadmap for defence industry cooperation, india’s pm narendra modi to address us congress, bbc gets india court summons in defamation case over modi film.

In a press release, the Biden administration said that a recent trip to New Delhi by National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan “underscored the dynamism of the US-India partnership in advance of Prime Minister Modi’s historic official state visit next week to the United States”.

But human rights groups say the celebratory dinner is a de facto endorsement of India’s far-right turn under Modi’s leadership — and undermines the Biden administration’s stated goal of emphasising human rights and democracy in its foreign policy.

During Modi’s tenure, India’s Muslims and other minorities have experienced an uptick in violence and repression as the government leans into a form of Hindu nationalism known as Hindutva . Modi has also been criticised for seeking to consolidate power and crack down on dissent.

“A state dinner is a special occasion; it’s not something that just any foreign leader receives,” Edward Mitchell, the deputy executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), told Al Jazeera over a phone call.

“How can the White House honour a leader who is an open anti-Muslim bigot, a right-wing ideologue who censors journalists and turns a blind eye to lynchings? You can work with India and Modi without taking this extra step to celebrate him.”

Confronting China

While advocacy groups have called for greater scrutiny of India’s human rights record , foreign policy experts say the Biden administration is primarily interested in the country as a potential counterweight to China, which the US sees as its most formidable global competitor.

Sarang Shidore, Director of Studies and Senior Research Fellow at the Quincy Institute, a US-based think tank, told Al Jazeera that he believes the US-India relationship will continue to grow as long as their shared concern over China remains in place.

“The United States does not conduct its foreign policy based on democracy and human rights. It conducts its foreign policy based on its interests, as all states do,” Shidore said.

China’s growing military power and assertive territorial claims have become a source of concern for nearby Asian countries such as the Philippines, Vietnam, Japan and India. The US has worked to fashion alliances with many of those countries in an attempt to contain China’s expanding influence.

“No question, there is increased Chinese nationalism,” said Shidore. “And China sees India as an increasing challenge due to its relationship with the US.”

Expanding ties

That was not always the case. During the Cold War, India’s relations with the US were often frosty. The country had cultivated close ties with the USSR and helped spearhead the Non-Aligned Movement, an organisation of countries that rejected pressures to join either pro-US or pro-Soviet blocs.

For its part, the US was a key ally of Pakistan. And by the early 1970s, the administration of US President Richard Nixon started to build a cooperative relationship with China, as an attempt, in part, to place pressure on the USSR.

But as the Cold War ended and China’s economic rise became a preoccupation of US foreign policy, India — with its size and economic heft — started to be seen as a key regional ally.

Despite its improved ties with the US, however, India has continued to resist what it sees as a false choice between the US and countries like President Vladimir Putin’s Russia.

But as Russia wages war in Ukraine and Washington seeks to isolate Moscow economically and diplomatically, that balancing act has become more difficult for India to maintain.

While India has increased its purchase of weapons from countries such as France and the US and recently agreed on a roadmap to increase cooperation with the US defence industry, it remains the world’s largest importer of Russian arms.

India has also joined China in buying up Russian oil at discounted prices, while the US and the European Union angle to limit Russia’s power in the global energy market.

But Shidore said that India’s status as a central player in Washington’s Asia strategy gives it significant leverage . Its ties to Russia are not likely to get in the way of its relationship with the US, he explained.

“India has played this quite well, playing Russia and the US off each other, and has benefitted in the process,” he said. “A country like India, which has such a strong convergence with the US on China, can create major spaces where it will differ very strongly from the US and can ride that out.”

Consolidating control

While US relations with allies such as Saudi Arabia and Israel have come under political scrutiny in recent years, Modi’s trip to the US has been welcomed with bipartisan support. An a joint letter inviting Modi to address Congress during his visit, members of the US House of Representatives and Senate have hailed the visit as a sign of the “enduring friendship” between the two countries.

“During your address, you will have the opportunity to share your vision for India’s future and speak to the global challenges our countries both face,” the letter reads.

However, Modi’s human rights record has not gone entirely unremarked. On Tuesday, a group of more than 70 lawmakers from the US House and Senate penned a letter to the Biden urging him to discuss concerns about religious freedom and journalistic expression in his talks with Modi.

The Muslim rights group CAIR, meanwhile, has issued a statement calling on the White House to drop its plans for a state dinner.

Modi’s high-profile reception in the US is a far cry from what he experienced before he was first elected prime minister in 2014. Prior to becoming India’s leader, Modi had been banned from entering the US due to allegations that he turned a blind eye to anti-Muslim violence in the western Indian state of Gujarat in 2002, when he was the province’s chief minister.

The deadly 2002 riots were the subject of a BBC documentary that Modi tried to ban in January, invoking his emergency powers as prime minister. The rights groups Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch screened the documentary in Washington on Tuesday.

Human rights groups say the move to ban the film was representative of a larger effort under Modi to stifle dissent and exercise control over independent institutions. They also accuse his government of pursuing an agenda influenced by far-right Hindu nationalism.

In an annual report on religious freedom in May, the US State Department expressed concern about the situation in India, noting that there were “open calls for genocide against Muslims”, lynchings and “attacks on places of worship”.

In May, for the fourth year in a row, the US Commission on International Religious Freedom called on the State Department to designate India as a “country of particular concern”.

In some states controlled by Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), politicians who lean into violent anti-Muslim rhetoric face little reprimand. Some Hindu nationalist paramilitaries have also waged a campaign against interfaith marriages , which they portray as an effort to dilute the Hindu population and win converts to Islam through “love jihad”.

Shidore, however, said that Modi’s human rights record has been quickly “papered over” and is unlikely to prevent cooperation with the US, so long as China remains a serious global competitor.

“The United States”, he said, “has set human rights issues aside in order to strengthen ties”.

What Modi’s Visit to Washington Tells Us About Indian American Voters

N arendra Modi was once shunned by the U.S. In 2005, the then-chief minister of the Indian state of Gujarat was denied a diplomatic visa amid accusations he tacitly supported Hindu mobs during communal violence three years earlier that left more than a thousand people, most of them Muslim, dead.

But he is shunned no more. On June 22, Washington will roll out the red carpet for Modi, who will become just the third world leader (after France’s Emmanuel Macron and South Korea’s Yoon Suk Yeol) to be invited by President Joe Biden for a state visit and dinner, the highest of diplomatic receptions typically reserved for only the closest of allies. That Biden has chosen to fete Modi in this way is indicative of the “deep and close partnership” between their two countries, the White House said in a statement , especially on matters of foreign policy. But it is perhaps also emblematic of the growing visibility and electoral heft of the Indian American community.

“Indian Americans are a key constituency and a key vote in a number of swing states,” says Sara Sadhwani, an assistant professor of politics at Pomona College and a senior researcher at AAPI Data, which publishes demographic data and policy research on Asian Americans.

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With a population of nearly 5 million, Indian Americans are the second-largest immigrant group and fastest-growing voting bloc in the U.S. today. Their impact is evident at the ballot box, where Indian Americans voted in record numbers during the 2020 presidential election. It is also becoming increasingly apparent in the halls of power, from Congress (where there are five Indian American lawmakers currently serving, up from just one a decade ago) to the White House (where Kamala Harris, who is biracial, made history as the first Vice President of Indian heritage). While every presidential contest since 2016 has featured at least one Indian American candidate, 2024 is poised to be the first race to feature at least two: Nikki Hayley, the daughter of Sikh immigrants from Punjab, and Vivek Ramaswamy, whose parents hail from Kerala.

Modi’s enduring popularity among the diaspora

The Indian American community’s political weight has not been lost on Modi, who has leveraged its influence time and again. When the Prime Minister first came to power in 2014, he was received by 20,000 spectators at a sold-out event in New York’s Madison Square Garden during a five-day visit to the U.S. It was the largest reception any foreign leader has received in the country after the Pope. “This is India’s century,” Modi declared, sending the wildly enthusiastic crowd into a frenzy.

In 2019, Modi once again received a jubilant reception with nearly 50,000 spectators at a “Howdy Modi” rally in Houston.

A survey on Indian American attitudes conducted by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and YouGov in 2020 found that Indian Americans held broadly favorable views of Modi, with nearly half approving of his performance as Prime Minister. Milan Vaishnav, director of the South Asia Program at Carnegie, says that this might be because the Indian diaspora sees Modi as “reclaiming India’s rightful status on the global scene.”

“India is now perceived to be both big and vital to geopolitics,” Vaishnav adds. Whether it’s hosting the G-20, being feted at the state dinner by President Biden, or even maintaining cordial relations with Vladimir Putin, he says that “many Indian diaspora members view this as a sign that India is back and experiencing a period of resurgence.”

The support for Modi comes despite the fact that while Indian Americans are hardly a monolith, they tend to vote for Democrats, rather than Republicans who more closely align with Modi’s right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party. As many as 74% of Indian American voters are thought to have backed Biden in 2020, according to a 2022 survey by AAPI Data , compared to just 15% supporting Donald Trump.

While Biden’s welcoming of Modi is widely seen in the context of Washington hoping to strike defense deals with New Delhi (most analysts tell TIME the reason for the visit can be distilled to one word—China—owing to the indispensable role of India in U.S. efforts to deter Chinese aggression), it’s also recognizing Modi’s popularity among a key American voting bloc. “In a time when the country has elections decided by four states and a margin of a few percent or less, every community really matters,” says Neil Makhija, the president of Indian American Impact advocacy group. “Ours really showed up in a significant way for [Biden] in Georgia, in Pennsylvania, in Arizona.”

Still, the Republican Party sees Indian Americans as a “natural constituency,” Vaishnav says. “They are well-off, and they’re business oriented. They care about low taxes, low regulation, and entrepreneurship, and they’re socially conservative. So I don’t think it’s a group that the Democratic Party is going to take for granted.”

A “very awkward” dilemma

Modi’s state visit also poses a strategic challenge to Biden. As a candidate, the U.S. President made defending human rights and democracy a cornerstone of his foreign policy agenda. Critics argue that his embrace of Modi, who over his two terms as Prime Minister has overseen significant democratic backsliding in India, is doing just the opposite.

The controversial Indian leader—who is poised to win his third term next year—has been accused of aggressively championing a Hindu-nationalist agenda that critics say reinvents the very idea of India as a pluralist, secular democracy to a religious, nationalist autocracy. Under Modi’s leadership, India has passed discriminatory laws that have alienated nearly 200 million Muslims; squashed dissent by jailing journalists, activists, and civil society organizations; and exercised judicial influence against his political opponents (notably, Rahul Gandhi , the de facto leader and scion of the Gandhi-Nehru family at the helm of the opposition Congress Party).

The U.S. has taken note. The State Department’s annual Religious Freedom Report, a survey of religious freedoms around the world, has expressed a number of concerns over India in recent years. It was notable that unlike last year, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken made no mention of India in his speech this year, which analysts saw as a move to keep U.S.-India relations friendly ahead of Modi’s visit.

But according to Audrey Truschke, an associate professor of South Asian history at Rutgers University and a vocal critic of Modi’s Hindu nationalist base, the decision to host Modi shows that the “Biden administration does not care about human rights in India. If they did, there is absolutely no way that they would be hosting Modi right now.”

“It’s very awkward for the administration,” adds Michael Kugelman, the director of the South Asia Institute at the Wilson Center think-tank in Washington, D.C. “The strategic imperatives of partnership limit the options for the administration to bring attention to this issue—especially publicly, given that this Indian government does not take kindly to any type of external criticism of its internal policies.” The top priority for the administration, he says, will be to “avoid any drama.”

While the White House may want to keep the visit as anodyne as possible, the same doesn’t appear to be the case for the Indian American community at large. In the run up to Modi’s visit, pro-Modi groups have organized “Unity” marches in nearly 20 American cities on June 18, while those opposed to Modi’s presence plan to stage a rally near the White House to coincide with his arrival on June 22.

In an open letter drafted by Hindus for Human Rights, a Washington D.C.-based advocacy group, several Indian Americans, human rights advocates, and concerned allies have also urged Biden to “push back” against the Indian government’s “escalating attacks on human rights and democracy.”

By honoring Modi, Truschke warns that the White House could inadvertently encourage communal violence within the Indian American community. “This will make Hindu nationalist groups feel even more emboldened in the U.S.,” says Truschke, who herself has been on the receiving end of threats from far-right Hindu nationalists.

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PM Modi US visit: Date, full schedule, events and agenda

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FILE -Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi pose for a photo shaking hands prior to their talks on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, Sept. 16, 2022. The Kremlin on Thursday said Modi will visit Russia on July 8-9 and hold talks with Putin. The visit was first announced by the Russian officials last month, but the dates have not been previously disclosed. (Alexandr Demyanchuk, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP, File)

FILE- Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi pose for a photo prior to their talks on a sideline of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, June 13, 2019. The Kremlin on Thursday, July 4, 2024 said Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Russia on July 8-9 and hold talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin. (Grigory Sysoyev, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP, File)

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MOSCOW (AP) — The Kremlin on Thursday said Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Russia on July 8-9 and hold talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The visit was first announced by Russian officials last month, but the dates have not been previously disclosed.

Russia has had strong ties with India since the Cold War, and New Delhi’s importance as a key trading partner for Moscow has grown since the Kremlin sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022. China and India have become key buyers of Russian oil following sanctions imposed by the U.S. and its allies that shut most Western markets for Russian exports.

Under Modi’s leadership, India has avoided condemning Russia’s action in Ukraine while emphasizing the need for a peaceful settlement.

The partnership between Moscow and New Delhi has become fraught, however, since Russia started developing closer ties with India’s main rival, China, because of the hostilities in Ukraine.

Modi on Thursday skipped the summit of a security grouping created by Moscow and Beijing to counter Western alliances.

Modi sent his foreign minister to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization at its annual meeting in Kazakhstan’s capital of Astana. The meeting is being attended by Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Indian media reports speculated that the recently reelected Modi was busy with the Parliament session last week.

Modi last visited Russia in 2019 for an economic forum in the far eastern port of Vladivostok. He last traveled to Moscow in 2015. Putin last met with Modi in September 2022 at a summit of the SCO in Uzbekistan. In 2021, Putin also traveled to New Delhi and held talks with the Indian leader.

Tensions between Beijing and New Delhi have continued since a confrontation in June 2020 along the disputed China-India border in which rival troops fought with rocks, clubs and fists. At least 20 Indian troops and four Chinese soldiers were killed.

After his reelection to a third straight term. Modi attended the G7 meeting in Italy’s Apulia region last month and addressed artificial intelligence, energy, and regional issues in Africa and the Mediterranean.

In the early 1990s, the Soviet Union was the source of about 70% of Indian army weapons, 80% of its air force systems and 85% of its navy platforms.

India bought its first aircraft carrier , INS Vikramaditya, from Russia in 2004. It had served in the former Soviet Union and later in the Russian navy.

With the Russian supply line hit by the fighting in Ukraine, India has been reducing its dependency on Russian arms and diversifying its defense procurements, buying more from the U.S., Israel, France and Italy.

Sharma reported from New Delhi.

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Modi in US: A look back at PM's previous visits to United States

The prime minister will undertake his first designated state visit to the us from june 20-24..

On Tuesday morning, prime minister Narendra Modi left for the United States on his maiden ‘ state visit ’ to the country after being invited by US President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden. This is only the third state visit by an Indian leader to the US, the first two coming in June 1963 (President S Radhakrishnan) and November 2009 (PM Manmohan Singh).

Modi, however, has undertaken several visits to US as India's PM. Here is a look back at his previous visits to the United States (as listed on the US State Department's website ):

He went there in September 2021 as well; that trip, however, is not listed on the State Department's website.

Indian PMs in United States

As many as 9 Indian prime ministers, including Modi and his predecessor Singh, have undertaken official visits to the United States. While Singh went there 8 times, Jawaharlal Nehru, the country's first PM, made as many as 4 visits, the same number as Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who preceded Singh in the office.

Others are Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi (3 each), PV Narasimha Rao (2), and Morarji Desai and IK Gujral (1 each).

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The Kremlin says India's Modi will visit Russia on July 8-9, hold talks with Putin

The Kremlin says Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Russia on July 8-9 and hold talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin

MOSCOW -- The Kremlin on Thursday said Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Russia on July 8-9 and hold talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The visit was first announced by Russian officials last month, but the dates have not been previously disclosed.

Russia has had strong ties with India since the Cold War, and New Delhi’s importance as a key trading partner for Moscow has grown since the Kremlin sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022. China and India have become key buyers of Russian oil following sanctions imposed by the U.S. and its allies that shut most Western markets for Russian exports.

Under Modi’s leadership, India has avoided condemning Russia’s action in Ukraine while emphasizing the need for a peaceful settlement.

The partnership between Moscow and New Delhi has become fraught, however, since Russia started developing closer ties with India’s main rival, China, because of the hostilities in Ukraine.

Modi on Thursday skipped the summit of a security grouping created by Moscow and Beijing to counter Western alliances.

Modi sent his foreign minister to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization at its annual meeting in Kazakhstan’s capital of Astana. The meeting is being attended by Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Indian media reports speculated that the recently reelected Modi was busy with the Parliament session last week.

Modi last visited Russia in 2019 for an economic forum in the far eastern port of Vladivostok. He last traveled to Moscow in 2015. Putin last met with Modi in September 2022 at a summit of the SCO in Uzbekistan. In 2021, Putin also traveled to New Delhi and held talks with the Indian leader.

Tensions between Beijing and New Delhi have continued since a confrontation in June 2020 along the disputed China-India border in which rival troops fought with rocks, clubs and fists. At least 20 Indian troops and four Chinese soldiers were killed.

After his reelection to a third straight term. Modi attended the G7 meeting in Italy’s Apulia region last month and addressed artificial intelligence, energy, and regional issues in Africa and the Mediterranean.

In the early 1990s, the Soviet Union was the source of about 70% of Indian army weapons, 80% of its air force systems and 85% of its navy platforms.

India bought its first aircraft carrier , INS Vikramaditya, from Russia in 2004. It had served in the former Soviet Union and later in the Russian navy.

With the Russian supply line hit by the fighting in Ukraine, India has been reducing its dependency on Russian arms and diversifying its defense procurements, buying more from the U.S., Israel, France and Italy.

Sharma reported from New Delhi.

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Reporting by Krishna N. Das and Nidhi Verma in New Delhi; Additional reporting by Aftab Ahmed in New Delhi and Guy Faulconbridge in Moscow; Editing by Clarence Fernandez

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Krishna is the editor for politics and general news in India. He was a member of teams that won the Society of Publishers in Asia (SOPA) awards in 2024 for Reuters coverage of the global toxic cough syrup scandal, in 2018 for the Rohingya refugee crisis and in 2017 for the Bangladesh Bank heist. He served as Malaysia bureau chief in 2019 and 2020 before returning home.

Nidhi Verma is an award-winning journalist working with Reuters. Presently, she is working as Team Leader-Energy in India. She has more than two decades of experience in covering India and global energy sector. Her stories show a new dimension of the energy sector, the nuances of the oil trade, the role of geopolitics and the diplomatic efforts that a country makes to mitigate the impact of external shocks.

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Hurricane Beryl churned over the Cayman Islands on Thursday as it took aim at some of Mexico's top tourist resorts, after belting Jamaica with winds that uprooted trees and tore apart buildings.

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