PM Modi meet Joe Biden: PM Modi reached Washington on Wednesday
New Delhi/Washington:
US President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden hosted Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the White House today. He was joined at the private dinner by National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and his US counterpart Jake Sullivan.
As official gifts, the Prime Minister presented a handmade sandalwood box to President Joe Biden and a 7.5-carat eco-friendly green diamond to the First Lady.
The sandalwood box gifted to President Biden, who will turn 81 in November, included a silver idol of Lord Ganesha, a diya (oil lamp) and ‘dus daanam’.
“Das Daanam” refers to the donation made when a person becomes ‘Drishta Sahasrachandra’ or who has seen one thousand full moons after completing the age of 80 years and eight months.
The Prime Minister also gifted a copy of the first edition print of the book ‘The Ten Principles Upanishad’ to Joe Biden.
The diamond gifted to Jill Biden was kept in a box made of paper mache, known as Kar-e-Kalamdani.
PM Modi received a handmade, antique American book galley from the Bidens.
The first couple also gifted him a vintage American camera, a hardcover book of American wildlife photography and a signed, first edition copy of the ‘Collected Poems of Robert Frost’.
PM Modi arrived in Washington today after leading a grand record-setting yoga session at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. He received a rousing reception in New York on Tuesday and held meetings with several CEOs, intellectuals and academics.
PM Modi is the third Indian to be invited for a state visit, which is seen as the highest form of expression of friendly ties and is reserved only for closest allies. A state visit involves an invitation by the head of state to his official residence.
President Biden and the First Lady will host a separate state dinner for the prime minister tomorrow at the White House, which is expected to be attended by about 400 guests.
The visit is indicative of the deepening ties between the two countries in a number of areas.