Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address a joint sitting of both houses of the US Congress today - a rare honour for a leader of another nation. The speech is expected to consolidate and celebrate the India-US relationship and the ways of taking it forward.
PM Modi was invited to the Capitol Hill by Paul Ryan, the Speaker of the House of Representatives. While making the announcement, Mr Ryan had described US-India ties as "a pillar of strength in an important region of the world."
PM Modi will be the sixth leader from India to be accorded this honour. Before him, former Prime Ministers Jawaharlal Nehru, Rajiv Gandhi, Narasimha Rao, Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Manmohan Singh had addressed the US Congress.
For PM Modi, this will be his 10th address to a foreign parliament since he took office two years ago. On his last visit to Washington in 2014, he could not address the Congress due to what then Speaker John Boehner had called "the unpredictability of the House schedule".
After today's address, Mr Ryan will also host a lunch for PM Modi. Later, the Prime Minister will attend a rare reception -- hosted in his honour by the Senate and House foreign relations committees and the India Caucuses in the House and the Senate. Around 400 people are likely to attend the reception.
Later today, PM Modi will attend four back-to-back meetings, one of them with US Defence Secretary Ashton Carter, who is expected to call on the Prime Minister.
US recognises India as a major defence partner and will be helping India with technological support for the Make in India programmes in the defence sector.
India and the US have agreed to build six nuclear reactors in India - a key step in closing the first deal stemming from a US-India civil nuclear accord struck over a decade ago. The AP 1000 reactors will be built by US firm Westinghouse, a unit of Japan's Toshiba Corp.
Yesterday, after his bilateral meeting with President Barack Obama, PM Modi said India and the US have been "working shoulder to shoulder," and "are proud of this legacy and will continue working with each other."
PM Modi, who landed in US from Geneva on Monday, also addressed the US-India Business Council yesterday, pointing out the government's efforts to make it the ideal destination for investors.
The Prime Minister will wind up his 5-nation tour with a stop at Mexico. He will be back in India on June 9.
