Modi to meet U.S. investors, CEOs

The Prime Minister is scheduled to address a joint session of the U.S Congress on June 8, and will also attend an event of the Indian community.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi. File photo

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend a dinner hosted by the U.S – India Business Council (USIBC) on June 7 that will bring together around 400 CEOs, investors and business leaders during his two-day visit to the U.S capital.

The Prime Minister is scheduled to address a joint session of the U.S Congress on June 8, and will also attend an event of the Indian community.

USIBC dinner event will honour Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and Dilip Shanghvi, founder and managing director of Sun Pharmaceuticals.

Details of the Prime Minister’s address to the joint session of the Congress is still being worked out by Speaker Paul Ryan’s office, and the community event that will also have several U.S lawmakers participating, will be finalised after Mr Modi’s schedule on the Capitol is final, it has been learnt.

Curiously, India has not formally announced the PM’s visit yet, which is taking place at the behest of President Barack Obama. Details of prime minister’s White House engagement are also not yet final, but it is unlikely that there will be a state banquet, it has been learnt.

Commercial pact

The photo-op of the visit could the signing of the first commercial agreement under the Indo-U.S. civil nuclear deal, between the Westinghouse Electric and the Nuclear Power Corporation India Ltd(NPCIL), to build six nuclear reactors in Gujarat.

Westinghouse CEO Daniel Roderick had told Reuters in March that he hoped sign the deal in June, after the negotiations could not conclude by the time of Mr Modi’s visit to attend the Nuclear Security Summit on March 31 and April 1. A source familiar with the development said the price of electricity is the lingering issue, and it could be resolved before Mr. Modi’s visit.