PM Modi Lands In New York US Visit To Focus On Defence Trade: 10 Facts

1. PM Modi is the third Indian leader to be invited for a state visit, which assumes further significance in view of the continuing war in Ukraine. He is also the first Indian Prime Minister  to address a joint session of the US Congress twice> Very few world leaders have done so.
2. At the airport, PM Modi was seen shaking hands with a huge group of Indian expats who had gathered to welcome him.Outside his hotel, another crowd of expats has gathered. Many were seen holding impromptu dances to while away the time as they waited.
3. From the airport, PM Modi will go to his hotel, after which he will hold a round of meetings with 24 thought leaders, including Nobel laureates, economists, artists, scientists, scholars, entrepreneurs, academicians, health sector experts, and others.  
4. The list includes Tesla founder Elon Musk, astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, Grammy award-winning Indian-American singer Falu (Falguni Shah), Paul Romer, Nicholas Nassim Taleb, Ray Dalio, Jeff Smith, Michael Froman, Daniel Russel, Elbridge Colby, Dr Peter Agre, Dr Stephen Klasko and Chandrika Tandon.
5. Besides the rare address to the joint session of the US Congress, the Prime Minister's schedule will include meetings with business leaders and Indian expats, and dinner at the White House with US President Joe Biden.
6. PM Modi is the third world leader after France's Emmanuel Macron and South Korea's Yoon Suk Yeol to be invited by President Biden for a state visit and dinner.
7. Tomorrow morning, the Prime Minister would lead the Yoga event at the UN building on the occasion of the World Yoga Day. On Friday, he will address a gathering of expat leaders from across US at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington.
8. There are hopes, meanwhile, that General Electric may produce the cutting-edge GE-F414 jet engine in India, in a multi-million-dollar deal with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited or HAL. The engine powers the F/A-18 Hornet, the US Navy's go-to fighter.
9. Jet engine technology is widely considered the holy grail of aviation technology and a manufacturing unit will be transformational for Indian airspace. The US has never allowed the transfer of this level of technology to anyone.
10. The two Indian leaders to make a state visit to the US were by former President Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan in June 1963 and former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in November 2009.