Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's state visit to the United States, the White House clarified questions regarding the significance of the upcoming visit and its concerns regarding the health of India’s democracy under the Modi government.

Emphasizing that the upcoming visit is an opportunity to further the India-US bilateral relationship on many levels, U.S. National Security Council (NSC) Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby said, “The President is looking forward very much to having Prime Minister Modi here to talk about all those issues and to advance and deepen that partnership and that friendship.”

Stressing that India is a “vibrant democracy” Kirby said that any concerns regarding strength and health of democratic institutions will be openly communicated during the discussions between the two leaders.

Maintaining that India and the United States are friends, Kirby added, “You can do that with friends; you’re supposed to do that with friends — you never shy away from expressing concerns that we might have with anyone around the world. But this visit is really about advancing what is now and what we hope will be a deeper, stronger partnership and friendship going forward.”

Modi’s four-day state visit to the United States is scheduled to begin from June 21, 2023, where he will be hosted by US President Joe Biden at the White House. This will be the Prime Minister’s first state visit to the US during his nine-year long reign.

During his visit, Modi has been invited to address a joint session of the US Congress on June 22. Accepting the invitation, the PM said, “ I am honored to accept and look forward to once again address a Joint Meeting of the Congress. We are proud of our Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership with the US, built upon the foundation of shared democratic values, strong people-to-people ties, and an unwavering commitment to global peace and prosperity.”