Prime Minister Modi US visit: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit the US on an official state visit from June 21 to 24 where he will be received by US President Joe Biden at the White House.
The last official visit was by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
This will be Narendra Modi’s first state visit to the US during his nine-year term as Prime Minister. The last state visit by an Indian to the USA took place from November 23 to 25, 2009 to then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
Not classified as a state visit
While Prime Minister Modi visited the US several times during his term, none of these visits were classified as state visits, which is the highest-level visit according to diplomatic protocol.
What is a state visit?
State visits are visits abroad that are carried out by the head of state/government in the exercise of his sovereignty. Therefore, they are officially described as (name of the state) and not (name of the leader). State visits to the United States take place only at the invitation of the President of the United States in his capacity as head of state.
State visits typically last a few days and involve many elaborate ceremonies, depending on the visiting head of state’s schedule. In the US, a flight ceremony (in which the visiting head of state is greeted on the tarmac after landing), a 21-gun salute at the White House arrival ceremony, a dinner at the White House, the exchange of diplomatic gifts and an invitation to Blair House ( Pennsylvania (The US President’s Guest House across the street) and along Flag Street are included in these celebrations. Narendra Modi’s visit includes a state dinner on June 22.
