India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited USA from Saturday September 21 thru Monday evening during which time he attended the sixth annual Quad Summit, held bilateral discussions with Quad leaders, addressed the Indian diaspora in Delaware and on Long Island, addressed the United Nations, and held bilateral talks with several leaders of governments. The PM departed for Delhi on Tuesday morning arriving Tuesday evening.
At the UN on Monday, PM Modi called for reforms in global institutions, which he said, “are important for global peace and development”. India has called for an expansion of the UN Security Council with India being awarded a permanent seat. India accounts for one sixth of the world’s population and is the fifth largest economy, aspiring to become the third by end of decade. India was offered a UN Security Council seat with veto power when Jawaharlal Nehru was PM right after India became independent. But Nehru declined it, recommending that it be given to India’s larger northern neighbor China.
At the sidelines of the summit in NY on Monday, the PM met several global leaders including Ukrainian president Zelensky, Suriname President Chan Santokhi, Palestine President Abbas, and more.
At long Island on Sunday, some 15,000 showed up at the Coliseum to catch a glimpse of the PM. Calling them India’s brand Ambassadors, Modi he applauded their role in strengthening relations between the two largest democracies. He highlighted the government’s achievements in the past 10 years and announced plans for the future. He also announced that India will open two new consulates in Boston and Los Angeles.
Indian-Americans, including Indo-Caribbean people, came in from 40 states, organisers said. Sixty charter buses were used for transportation purposes from nearby areas for easy access to the Coliseum.
After the Long Island diaspora event, Prime Minister Modi participated in what organizers said was a “fruitful” roundtable with the CEOs of leading American tech companies. He urged CEOs to take advantage of India’s growth story as the country is making all efforts to become the third largest economy in the world in his third term.
