Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to meet business leaders of 20 top American companies here and is also expected to address a gathering of more than 1,500 diaspora and business leaders at the John F Kennedy Centre in Washington. Top 20 business leaders of US companies including Mastercard, Accenture, the Coca-Cola Company, Adobe Systems and Visa are expected to meet with the Prime Minister privately, two people familiar with the event and its logistics told ANI.
The business advocacy group, the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF) headed by Dr Mukesh Aghi will facilitate the meeting with some of the important names including Shantanu Narayen, Chief Executive Officer of Adobe Systems; Julie Sweet CEO of Accenture; Ryan McInerney CEO of Visa Inc, Michael Miebach, CEO Mastercard; James Quincey, CEO Coke Cola.
“The meeting will witness eminent industry leaders from across various sectors including IT, Telecom, FMCG, logistics, and industrials,” a person familiar with the planning told ANI.
This meeting will be post Prime Minister Narendra Modi attending the State Dinner at the White House and before going on an official visit to Cairo at the invitation of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi.
The event will have a get-together of not just business leaders but also some of the Biden administration’s top officials.
“More than 1,500 invites have been sent out for the Kennedy Center event that includes some of the top CEOs and business leaders. Invites are also being sent to several officials in the Biden administration,” the person further told ANI.
Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the US, Mukesh Aghi, President and Chief Executive Officer of the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum, on Monday (local time) said that India and the US are getting over the suspiciousness of each other. While speaking to ANI, Mukesh Aghi said that they are witnessing a much more “concrete, deeper and broader relationship” coming up between India and US.
Aghi said that India is taking an independent position at international forums. However, he noted that India also supports the US position. He also recalled PM Modi’s address to the joint session of the Congress.
In response to a question regarding the change in India-US ties over the years, he said, “Well, when Prime Minister spoke for the first time to a joint session of the Congress, he said we need to overcome the hesitation of history. And I think what we are seeing is both sides are coming, getting over the suspiciousness of each other.”
“We had in India 1998 sanctions and India couldn’t bring in a lot of those technologies. Now we’re seeing a lot of those technologies moving to India. We are seeing India stepping up in the international forum, taking an independent position, but it also supports the US position also. So, I think we are seeing a much more concrete, deeper and broader relationship coming up,” he added.
PM Modi is scheduled to arrive in New York. After leading the Yoga Day celebrations at the UN headquarters on June 21.
Modi is expected to leave New York for Washington DC on June 21, soon after the event, to begin the bilateral leg of his visit. On June 22, President Joe Biden will host him for a State visit, which includes a ceremonial welcome at the White House, bilateral talks, luncheon sponsored by Vice President Kamala Harris and Secretary Blinken.
Besides the state visit, cabinet ministers in the Biden administration and key leaders are likely to call on the Prime Minister for meetings.
