PM Modi meets President Biden and First Lady on eve of State visit, exchange gifts

June 21, 2023

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Honor Guard welcome and singing of the national anthem, as PM Modi landed in Washington, D.C. PHOTO: Twitter @narendramodi

Honor Guard welcome for PM Modi as he landed in Washington, D.C. PHOTO Twitter @PMOIndia

Prime Minister Modi arrived in Washington, D.C. July 21, 2023, on the eve of his formal State Visit and Dinner, and met President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden at the White House.

“I thank POTUS@JoeBiden and@FLOTUS@DrBiden for hosting me at the White House today. We had a great conversation on several subjects,” Modi tweeted.

The leaders exchanged gifts at the meeting. As the official gift, the President and First Lady presented Prime Minister Modi with a handmade, antique American book galley from the early 20th Century. President Biden also gifted Prime Minister Modi a vintage American camera, accompanied by an archival facsimile print of George Eastman’s Patent of the first Kodak camera, and a hardcover book of American wildlife photography. Dr. Jill Biden gifted the Prime Minister a signed, first edition copy of “Collected Poems of Robert Frost.”

Modi joined the President and First Lady for a private dinner at the White House featuring a few of the President’s favorite foods, including pasta and ice cream. They were joined by U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and National Security Advisory of India Ajit Doval, a White House readout said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi meeting President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden June 21, in Washington, D.C., on eve of formal State Visit. PHOTO Twitter @narendramodi

This meeting was preceded by an event at the National Science Foundation where Modi and FLOTUS headlined a discussion on skill development. They were accompanied by among others, India’s Ambassador to the US Taranjit Singh Sandhu and US Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti.

“Honoured that @FLOTUS @DrBiden joined us in a special event relating to skill development. Skilling is a top priority for India and we are dedicated to creating a proficient workforce that can boost enterprise and value creation,” Modi tweeted.

First Lady Jill Biden with PM Modi June 21, 2023, upon his arrival for the State Visit to Washington, when they visited the National Science Foundation for an event on skill development. Also seen in photo Indian Ambassador Taranjit Singh Sandhu and US Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti. PHOTO: Twitter @narendramodi

First Lady Jill Biden and Prime Minister Narendra Modi exchange remarks at the National Science Foundation event June 21, 2023, in Washington, D.C. PHOTO: Twitter @narendramodi

In his speech at the NSF, Modi called it a great opportunity to meet so many young and creative minds soon upon his arrival in Washington. Speaking in Hindi, Modi noted that India is working with NSF on several projects. He praised First Lady Dr. Jill Biden for being an example for all through her accomplishments and commitments. In its national education policy, India has integrated teaching with skilling, he said. The Government of India has established thousands of ‘tinkering’ labs and equipped them with resources to help students experiment, he added, saying this could be labeled India’s ‘tech decade.’

On his first day in the capital, Modi also met at least three heads of big companies like General Electric, MicronTech, and Applied4Tech.