PM Narendra Modi's US visit may focus on smaller events in New York

In his earlier visits, he also travelled to Washington DC, Chicago, Houston, San Francisco, and San Jose

In contrast to the broad swathe of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the United States in September 2019 — his first to that country after winning a second successive term five years back — his forthcoming visit to the US later this month will likely have him stay in New York.

During some of his earlier visits, the PM not only travelled to New York and Washington DC, but also to Chicago, Houston, San Francisco and San Jose.

The details of the PM’s visit to the US will be finalised once he returns from Singapore, but sources privy to his US itinerary told Business Standard that Modi is unlikely to travel outside New York.

 

In New York, the PM is scheduled to attend the UN General Assembly (UNGA) and hold bilateral talks with other heads of state. Meetings with top business leaders are also in the works.

Modi is also slated to address the Indian diaspora at an event on September 22 at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, a multi-purpose indoor arena in Uniondale, New York. The arena seats 15,000 people.

Organisers said there is immense interest among the Indian diaspora to attend the “Modi & US Progress Together” event and over 24,000 people have registered. The organisers of the event are trying to bring in well-known artistes to perform at the event.

But the event is being held at a much smaller scale than the “Howdy Modi” programme in Houston five years back, where an estimated 50,000 Indian-Americans attended.

With US presidential elections round the corner, no American politicians have been invited to attend or share the stage with Modi at the Indian diaspora event on this occasion.

In contrast, during his September 2019 visit, the PM attended the UNGA in New York and also visited Chicago and Houston, where he addressed the “Howdy Modi” event, with then US President Donald Trump by his side.

During his speech and as Trump joined him on the stage, the PM drew from his own campaign slogan of “Abki baar, Modi Sarkar”, rephrasing it to “Abki baar, Trump Sarkar” to cheer for his “friend” Trump. The US presidential elections were then, as they are now, barely a couple of months away.

The PM’s visit in 2019, which took place three-and-a-half months after he led the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to a historic mandate, lasted from September 20 to 27. It was the longest of the eight visits he has made to the US, from his first in 2014 to his last in 2023.

Sources attributed the “low key” nature of the visit, in terms of official engagements, to the upcoming presidential elections in that country, which is also the reason that the PM is unlikely to travel to Washington DC.

There is also uncertainty over whether outgoing Japanese PM Fumio Kishida will attend the Quad Summit in New York, which is slated to take place on the sidelines of the UNGA.

The visit to the US, if it happens, will be Kishida’s last as the Prime Minister of his country. He has announced that he will not seek re-election as leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, which will elect a new leader later this month. Apart from India and Japan, Quad comprises the US and Australia.

After being elected the PM in May 2014, Modi had first visited the US in September of that year. A highlight of the visit was his address to the Indian diaspora at New York's Madison Square Gardens.

Modi next visited the US in 2015, twice in 2016, including for the Nuclear Security Summit, and also in 2017, 2019, 2021 and 2023. In 2023, the PM addressed the US Congress and also led the International Day of Yoga celebrations at the UN Headquarters.