PM Modi's state visit great opportunity to underscore deep India-US ties: State dept official

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's official state visit to the US at the invitation of President Joe Biden is a great opportunity for the two leaders to underscore deep ties between the two largest democracies of the world, a senior State Department official has said. Modi will embark on his state visit to the US next month on an invitation by President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden. The US President and the First Lady will also host PM Modi at a state dinner on June 22.

"We are really excited to host Prime Minister Modi in June here in Washington. This is going to be a great opportunity for our two leaders to underscore the deep ties between our two countries and between our peoples," said Nancy Izzo Jackson, the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for India at the Bureau of South and Central Asia Affairs.

"They will review our growing trade, investment and defence partnership. We also expect that they are going to discuss new areas of cooperation as we work together to face global challenges like health, climate change, clean energy technology and food security," she said in response to a question.

Jackson added, "Underpinning all of these issues, however, is our shared investment in our people-to-people ties, whether that is promoting educational exchanges or investing in our workforce development. Certainly, visas are a part of that conversation."

She asserted that this was one of the most consequential global relationships. "Our bilateral partnership cuts across our most crucial global strategic priorities -- defence, economic and trade security, health, emerging technology and the ever-growing people-to-people ties," Jackson said.

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