Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Joe Biden exhanged unique gifts with each other during a private dinner hosted by the latter and First Lady Jill Biden on Wednesday at the White House,.
PM Modi thanked both of them for hosting him at the White House and noted that they held “great conversation” on several subjects.
In a tweet, PM Modi stated, “I thank @POTUS @JoeBiden and @FLOTUS @DrBiden for hosting me at the White House today. We had a great conversation on several subjects.”
A day before the high-profile state dinner, US President Biden had welcomed PM Modi for an intimate dinner at the White House. National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and his US counterpart Jake Sullivan, Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra and Deputy Chief of Protocol Aseem Vohra also attended the dinner, which featured the President’s favourite foods – pasta and ice cream.
National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and his US counterpart Jake Sullivan, Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra and Deputy Chief of Protocol Aseem Vohra also attended the dinner, which featured the President’s favourite foods – pasta and ice cream.
During the dinner, the trio enjoyed a musical tribute to the regions of India, performed by youth dancers from Studio Dhoom, a DMV-based Indian dance studio that helps connect a new generation to the vibrant culture of Indian dance, according to the White House.
The two leaders also exchanged gifts at the White House. PM Modi presented a special sandalwood box to US President Biden that has been handcrafted by a master craftsman from Jaipur, Rajasthan. He also gifted a lab-grown 7.5-carat green diamond and ‘papier mache’ to US First Lady Jill Biden.
On the other hand, President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden presented Pm Modi with a handmade, antique American book galley from the early 20th Century. Biden also gifted a vintage American camera, accompanied by an archival facsimile print of George Eastman’s Patent of the first Kodak camera, and a hardcover book of American wildlife photography. Jill Biden gifted a signed, first-edition copy of “Collected Poems of Robert Frost” to PM Modi.
On Thursday, the Indian Prime Minister will attend the state dinner hosted by US President Biden and First Lady Jill Biden. He is also slated to address a Join Sitting of the US Congress on the same day.
Later on June 23, PM Modi will be jointly hosted at a luncheon by US Vice President Kamala Harris and Us Secretary of State Antony Blinken. He will also meet business leaders of 20 top American companies during the event.
