Prime Minister Narendra Modi's U.S.A Visit
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o Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s U.S.A Visit |
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The curtain has come down on the high intensity visit of the Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi’s to the U.S.A. However, the stage that he performed on is still rocking from the effects.
Even as the visit plans were being drawn out, there were varied high expectations from individuals, corporations and global leaders. Major publications were abuzz with articles and opinions. To the credit of the Prime Minister’s team and also his supporters, there was never any gloating or even public mention of the about turn of the U.S. Government on the issue of granting of a visa to Modi. The focus of both the U.S. and Indian government officials was on the present and future. Madeleine Albright: Why Modi visit crucial for U.S., India, world? http://www.cnn.com/2014/09/27/opinion/albright-india-modi-visit/index.html Why Modi's visit matters By Richard Fontaine http://www.cnn.com/2014/09/28/opinion/fontaine-modi-visit/ It was a 5 day visit but if one considered the itinerary for each day, the objective seemed to be to achieve on several different fronts including politics and commerce, Here is the itinerary as I found out. Sept. 26 Meeting with New York City’s mayor Bill de Blasio. Sept. 27 Meeting with former New York City’s mayor Michael Bloomberg. Pay homage to 9/11 memorial in New York. Address the 69th session of United Nations general assembly in New York. Speech at Global Citizen’s Festival at Central Park in New York. Meeting with “distinguished” people of Indian origin. Sept. 28 Speech to an audience of 18,000 people at New York City’s iconic sports and entertainment arena Madison Square Garden. Meeting members of the Sikh community from the US and Canada. Meeting the American Jewish community. Indian ambassador to US S. Jaishankar will be hosting a dinner where Modi will meet some top non-resident Indians. Meeting with Nikki Haley, governor of South Carolina. Sept. 29 Breakfast with 11 chief executives of some of the top US companies, including Eric Schmidt of Google, Indra Nooyi of PepsiCo, Ajaypal Singh Banga of Mastercard. One-on-one meetings with six chief executives. They are: W James McNerney Jr., chairman of Boeing; Laurence D Fink, CEO of BlackRock; Ginni Rometti, president and CEO of IBM; Jeff Immelt, CEO of General Electric, Lloyd C Blankfein; chairman of Goldman Sachs. Meeting with Bill and Hillary Clinton in New York City. Private dinner with US president Barack Obama (although Modi will be fasting). Sept. 30 Visit to the Lincoln Memorial, Martin Luther King memorial and Mahatma Gandhi statue in Washington. Lunch meeting with vice president Joe Biden and secretary of state John Kerry. Meeting with around 300 members of US-India Business Council in Washington. Meeting with the House leadership and speaker John Boehner. Meeting with Obama in Washington. Meeting with governor of Maryland Martin O’ Malley. One of the highlights of the Prime Minister’s visit was the rockstar event and performances at the Madison Square Garden. The marquee event was off-course PM Modi’s speech and it was a huge hit, in terms of substance and delivery. PM Modi full speech @ Madison Square Garden, New York, USA http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svoduUO1N6E There were a lot of write ups on the event but the one which came closest to the essence of what was to be achieved from this event and other related ones was in the Indian Express. Indians of New York http://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/indians-of-new-york/ A very good summary came from the comedian Jon Stewart. Not surprisingly, it is a must see. Jon Stewart Reacts To Narendra Modi Visit To USA - America's Top Modi http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PytnPt2v5h4 The Washington Post and the Forbes Magazine talked about the needs for Washington and India to co-operate and work closely in an Allied manner, even if they were not to be called as Allies. Washington Post: A renewed U.S.-India partnership for the 21st century http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/narendra-modi-and-barack-obama-a-us-india-partnership-for-the-21st-century/2014/09/29/dac66812-4824-11e4-891d-713f052086a0_story.html Forbes: India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi Visits America: Washington Should Recognize Another Emerging Great Power http://www.forbes.com/sites/dougbandow/2014/09/29/indias-prime-minister-narendra-modi-visits-america-washington-should-recognize-another-emerging-great-power/ Overall, most people believe that the visit was very successful in erasing any possibility of bad blood between the political setups of the 2 countries. Not only that, very clear and solid foundations were laid for close co-operation based on mutual trust. What did Narendra Modi’s U.S Trip Accomplish http://thediplomat.com/2014/10/what-did-narendra-modis-us-trip-accomplish/ Very evidently, the diaspora shared the mood and enthusiasm of Indians at home and did not hesitate to express it in New York and elsewhere. Such support would have pleased him greatly and made the new leader at the helm of the country even more steadfast in his conversations and convictions. Not the least, one of his convictions meant that he stayed on a hard Navratri fast during all 5 days of his visit. May God bless India and its Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Jai Hind. |
