In his address to the Joint Session of the US Congress, Indian PM Narendra Modi said the India-US relationship “will not only shape the destiny of our two nations [India and the US], but also that of the world.”
Highlighting the importance of the US to India, Modi remarked that Washington occupies a special place in New Delhi’s approach to the world.
Honoured to address the US Congress. Gratitude to all the members of Congress who attended today. Your presence signifies the strength of India-USA ties and our shared commitment to a better future. I look forward to continued partnership in fostering global peace and progress. pic.twitter.com/7VSVT3Hr05
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) June 23, 2023
India-US to Give Better Future to the World
The PM remarked that it was a great honour to address the US Congress for the second time and mentioned that India and the US have passed the test of friendship. He said that, while a lot has changed, India’s commitment to deepen the friendship remains the same.
Modi remarked, “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.”
Remarking that the US is the oldest, and India the largest, democracy, Modi said, “Our partnership augurs well for the future of democracy. Together, we shall give a better future to the world, and a better world to the future.”
Endless Scope of Cooperation Between India and the US
He mentioned that today India and the US are working together in several areas like space and the seas, science and semiconductors, start-ups and sustainability, and tech and trade.
“We were strangers in defence cooperation at the turn of the century. Now, the United States has become one of our most important defence partners,” Modi asserted.
The PM stated that the scope of cooperation between India and the US is endless, and agreed with US President Joe Biden’s remarks that the India-US partnership is the defining partnership of the century.
With this visit, we are demonstrating once more how India and the United States are collaborating on nearly every human endeavor and delivering progress across the board.
— President Biden (@POTUS) June 23, 2023
Our bottom line is simple: We want people everywhere to have the opportunity to live in dignity. pic.twitter.com/LLR2dn1vp6
Need of Freeing Indo-Pacific from Debt
Criticising China’s role in the Indo-Pacific, Modi said, “The dark clouds of coercion and confrontation are casting their shadow in the Indo-Pacific.” He said India shares a vision of a “free, open and inclusive Indo Pacific [...] defined by international law, free from domination, and anchored in ASEAN centrality.”
In another veiled swipe at China, the PM further stated that India envisions the Indo-Pacific as “A region where all nations, small and large, are free and fearless in their choices, where progress is not suffocated by impossible burdens of debt, where connectivity is not leveraged for strategic purposes.”
He also highlighted the issue of terrorism and said that India and the US must overcome all forces sponsoring and exporting terror. Additionally, the Indian PM stressed the need to give the African Union full membership of G20 to give shape to a new world order as the world emerges out of the pandemic.
Modi’s second Congressional address is a rare honour accorded to him during his US visit, which saw the signing of several significant agreements between India and the US.