PM Modi’s address to the US Congress

Addressing a joint meeting of the US Congress in Washington, DC, Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke of the symbiotic India-US economic relations, the ties of democracy that bind the two countries as also that of shared challenges, including the “dark clouds of coercion and confrontation” casting their shadow in the Indo-Pacific.

Modi said the stability of the Indo-Pacific region had become one of the central concerns of the India-US partnership and hailed the emergence of Quad as “a major force of good in the region”. In his second address to a joint sitting of the Congress — the first Indian prime minister and one of a handful of world leaders to do so — Modi said the countries of the Global South had been particularly affected by the Ukraine war.

Modi last addressed the Congress in 2016 and thanked the members for the “exceptional privilege” of addressing it again. “In the past few years, there have been many advances in AI – Artificial Intelligence. At the same time, there have been even more momentous developments in another AI — America and India,” he said.

The PM acknowledged the participation of Indian Americans in the US democracy. “I am told that the Samosa Caucus is now the flavour of the House. I hope it grows and brings the full diversity of Indian cuisine here,” Modi said, adding how over two centuries, the two countries have inspired each other through the lives of great Americans and Indians, such as Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Junior.

The PM said India celebrated 75 years of its independence in 2022, which was not just a celebration of democracy, but also of diversity. Modi said India had 2,500 political parties. “About 20 different parties govern various states of India. We have 22 official languages and thousands of dialects, and yet, we speak in one voice,” he said. “In India, diversity is a natural way of life,’ Modi said.

Modi said when he first visited the US in 2014, India was the tenth-largest economy in the world. It is now the world’s fifth largest and will soon be its third. “We are not only growing bigger, but we are also growing faster,” he said. Modi spoke of the digital revolution in India. “Last year, of every 100 real-time digital payments in the world, 46 happened in India,” he said.

On India-US commercial ties, Modi said, “When defence and aerospace in India grow, industries in Washington, Arizona, Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina, and Pennsylvania thrive. When American companies grow, their research and development centres in India thrive. When Indians fly more, a single order for aircraft creates more than a million jobs in forty-four states in America,” he said.

Modi said when an American phonemaker invests in India, it creates an entire ecosystem of jobs and opportunities in both countries. “When India and the US work together on semiconductors and critical minerals, it helps the world in making supply chains more diverse, resilient, and reliable,” the PM said, flagging that one consequence of globalisation has been the over-concentration of supply chains.

The PM said India and the US would collaborate to diversify, decentralise, and democratise supply chains. “Technology will determine the security, prosperity and leadership in the 21st century. That is why our two countries established a new “Initiative for Critical and Emerging Technologies,” he said.

According to a PTI report, Modi’s address received over a dozen standing ovations from US lawmakers and multiple applause.

Later in the day, the PM attended the State Dinner that US President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden hosted for him at the North Lawn of the White House. They invited over 400 guests, including industrialists Mukesh Ambani, Anand Mahindra, Google CEO Sunder Pichai, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, and Apple CEO Tim Cook.

Modi raised a toast for his hosts and for India-US friendship. “With every passing day, Indians and Americans are getting to know each other better. We can pronounce each other’s names correctly. We can understand each other’s accents better. Children in India become Spider Man on Halloween, and America’s youth is dancing to the tune of Naatu Naatu,” the PM said.

In his remarks, Biden said the bonds between India and the US stretch back to America’s earliest days. “In 1792, our first President, George Washington, established one of the first consulates in Calcutta…a hub of commerce and culture…,” he said.