Narendra Modi's Action-Packed U.S. Tour Combines Symbolism And Substance

Modi will take to the world stage with his address to the UN General Assembly on September 27 and several bilateral meetings with gathered world leaders. But a meeting with his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif does not appear to be on the cards.

Modi also meets Nimrata Nikki Randhawa Haley, Indian-American governor of South Carolina besides several other eminent Indian-Americans and addresses a huge Indian-American community reception at Madison Square Garden in midtown Manhattan.

Modi will also meet former President Bill Clinton, under whom India-U.S. relations started looking up again with the start of negotiations to end India's nuclear isolation, and his spouse Hillary Clinton. The power couple are counted among friends of India.

The Prime Minister meets business CEOs and addresses the Council on Foreign Relations, a leading thinktank, to discuss India's strategic priorities before flying off to Washington for his summit meetings with Obama on September 29 and 30.

Reflective of Obama administration's desire to build bridges with Modi who was shunned by the U.S. for nearly a decade for his alleged failure to control the 2002 Gujarat riots, he will be housed in the 190-year-old historic Blair House, presidential state guest house across the street from the White House.

Modi will pay visits to Lincoln and Martin Luther King Jr memorials and Gandhi statue in front of the Indian embassy in Washington before heading for his formal summit meeting with Obama at the White House

He will also have lunch with Vice-President Joe Biden and secretary of state John Kerry at the State Department, meet Republican House Speaker John Boehner and other Congressional leaders on the Capitol Hill and give a policy address to the U.S.-India Business Council (USIBC) Sep 30 before leaving for India.

While nothing "transformative" like the landmark India-U.S. nuclear deal is expected to come out from the Modi-Obama summit, it would definitely help reboot India-U.S. relations with greater cooperation in a range of areas from health, to education to technology and defence.

Meanwhile, with Modi expected to be fasting during the U.S. sojourn, what dish would those cooking up his agenda serve at his private dinner with Obama remains a mystery.

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