Indian PM Modi invited to address joint meeting of US Congress on June 22
Adds more context, background on human rights, paragraphs 3, 5-7
By Patricia Zengerle
WASHINGTON, June 2 (Reuters) - U.S. congressionalleaders on Friday invitedIndian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to address a joint meeting of the House of Representatives and Senate on June 22, one of the highest honors Washington affords to foreign dignitaries.
"During your address, you will have the opportunity to share your vision for India's future and speak to the global challenges our countries both face," House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said in a letter to Modi.
The speech would be Modi's second to a joint meeting of the U.S. legislature, a rare honor for a leader once denied a visa to enter the United Statesover human rights concerns.
President Joe Biden is eager to deepen ties with the world's largest democracy as part of his bid to win what he has framed as a contest between free and autocratic societies, especially China.
The White House announced last month that Modi wasinvited for an official state visit, despite advocacy groups' concerns over what they see as a deteriorating human rights situation under his Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party.
The State Department's annual report on human rights practicesreleased in March listed "significant human rights issues" and abuses in India.
New Delhi has frustrated Washington by participating in military exercises with Russia and increasing purchases of the country's crude oil, a source of funding for the war in Ukraine. Washington has been pushing New Delhi to do more to punish Russia for the Ukraine invasion.
Addresses to joint meetings of Congress are generally reserved for the closest U.S. allies or major world figures. The last was by South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol in April. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy addressed the House and Senate in December.
Several Indian leaders have made such addresses. Modi last did so in 2016. The first was Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru in 1949.
Modi's relationship with Washington has evolved since 2005, when the administration of then-President George W. Bush denied him a visa under a U.S. law barring entry to foreigners who have committed "particularly severe violations of religious freedom."
That stemmed from the killing of more than 1,000 people, mostly Muslims, in sectarian riots in the Indian state of Gujarat shortly after Modi became its chief minister. Modi denied wrongdoing.
In their letter, McCarthy, Schumer, McConnell and Jeffries said the address would celebrate the enduring friendship between the United States and India.
Reporting by Patricia Zengerle; editing by Doina Chiaacu
Berita Terkini
Penafian: Entiti XM Group menyediakan perkhidmatan pelaksanaan sahaja dan akses ke Kemudahan Dagangan Atas Talian, yang membolehkan sesorang melihat dan/atau menggunakan kandungan yang ada di dalam atau melalui laman web, tidak bertujuan untuk mengubah atau memperluas, juga tidak mengubah atau mengembangkannya. Akses dan penggunaan tersebut tertakluk kepada: (i) Terma dan Syarat; (ii) Amaran Risiko; dan Penafian Penuh. Oleh itu, kandungan sedemikian disediakan tidak lebih dari sekadar maklumat umum. Terutamanya, perlu diketahui bahawa kandungan Kemudahan Dagangan Atas Talian bukan permintaan, atau tawaran untuk melakukan transaksi dalam pasaran kewangan. Berdagang dalam mana-mana pasaran kewangan melibatkan tahap risiko yang besar terhadap modal anda.
Semua bahan yang diterbitkan di Kemudahan Dagangan Atas Talian kami bertujuan hanya untuk tujuan pendidikan/maklumat dan tidak mengandungi – dan tidak boleh dianggap mengandungi nasihat kewangan, cukai pelaburan atau dagangan dan cadangan, atau rekod harga dagangan kami, atau tawaran, atau permintaan untuk suatu transaksi dalam sebarang instrumen kewangan atau promosi kewangan yang tidak diminta kepada anda.
Sebarang kandungan pihak ketiga serta kandungan yang disediakan oleh XM, seperti pendapat, berita, penyelidikan, analisis, harga, maklumat lain atau pautan ke laman web pihak ketiga yang terdapat dalam laman web ini disediakan berdasarkan "seadanya" sebagai ulasan pasaran umum dan bukanlah nasihat pelaburan. Sesuai dengan apa-apa kandungan yang ditafsir sebagai penyelidikan pelaburan, anda mestilah ambil perhatian dan menerima bahawa kandungan tersebut tidak bertujuan dan tidak sediakan berdasarkan keperluan undang-undang yang direka untuk mempromosikan penyelidikan pelaburan bebas dan oleh itu, ia dianggap sebagai komunikasi pemasaran di bawah peraturan dan undang-undang yang berkaitan. SIla pastikan bahawa anda telah membaca dan memahami Notifikasi mengenai Penyelidikan Pelaburan Bukan Bebas dan Amaran Risiko mengenai maklumat di atas yang boleh diakses di sini.
