Narendra Modi’s US visit: President Donald Trump to host dinner for PM at White House | Full schedule

Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in the United States capital, Washington DC, on Wednesday (EST) after concluding his two-day visit to France, where he co-chaired the Artificial Intelligence Action Summit alongside French President Emmanuel Macron.

The two leaders also held bilateral discussions aimed at strengthening ties and shared a warm hug at the airport in Marseille before PM Narendra Modi departed for his US tour.

During his two-day US visit, Modi is scheduled to meet US President Donald Trump, making him the fourth foreign leader to visit the President following his inauguration on January 20.

President Trump and PM Modi will hold a press conference on Thursday when they meet in Washington.

Earlier on Thursday, Modi met with Tulsi Gabbard, US director of National Intelligence, and discussed various aspects of ties between the two countries with a focus on enhancing intelligence cooperation in counter-terrorism and emerging threats.

Modi in US: Full schedule of Prime Minister’s Day 1 in Washington

1600 Hrs (EST) – Arrival at White House

1605 – 1650 Hrs (EST)- Bilateral meeting with President Donald Trump

1710 – 1740 Hrs (EST)- Press statements where both the leaders will take questions

1740 – 1840 Hrs (EST) – Dinner hosted by President Trump

Note: These timings are subject to change based on real-time developments

PM Modi-Trump meeting: Why it is significant

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is on a two-day visit to the US, will hold high-stakes talks with President Donald Trump in the face of concerns in New Delhi over Washington’s new “America First” trade agenda as well as its policy on immigration.

Modi is staying at the Blair House, the US presidential guest house at the heart of the American capital city.

With Trump’s stringent tariff policy, especially towards Asian countries, PM Modi’s key priority is likely to be to pre-empt any punitive trade action by Washington against India.

Experts and overseers of India-US ties said there is a possibility of both sides exploring the option of looking at a trade pact to avoid high tariffs and expand the overall trade basket.

In their meeting, the two leaders are likely to broadly focus on ramping up India-US cooperation in sectors like trade, investment, energy, defence, technology and immigration.