Prime Minister Narendra Modi started his Day 2 in the US by leading the yoga event at the United Nations building in New York on international Yoga Day. Later, he would leave for Washington, where the state visit will officially begin.
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“Yoga free from copyright, patent, royalties… It is a way of life…Yoga is flexible, you can practice alone, group, learn from a teacher or self-taught… It is unifying, it is truly universal. It is for all ethnicities, faith, cultures,” PM Modi said in his address at the yoga event at the UN building.
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The event at the north lawn of the UN building is being attended by luminaries from the fields of science, art and entertainment, diplomats, academicians, technocrats and political leaders. Among them were the New York Mayor, three-time Grammy winner Ricky Kej, singer Falguni Shah, actors Richard Gere and Priyanka Chopra and various UN officials.
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The Yoga programme at the UN created Guinness World Record for people of most nationalities doing Yoga together. 135 nationalities participated today, breaking the earlier record of 114 nationalities.
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He is now on way to Washington DC. At the Andrew Air base of Washington, he will be given a traditional welcome by Indian expats. In Washington, he would end the day with a series of meetings with another group of industry leaders and CEOs.
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On Thursday, PM Modi will attend a dinner hosted by US President Joe Biden and his family at te White House. He would inspect the Guard of Honour at the White House, and later, hold bilateral talks in the Oval office.
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In the evening, he will address a joint sitting of the US Congress. This will be his second address to a joint sitting – a first for an Indian and a rare honour for world leaders.
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PM Modi had landed in New York yesterday to a rousing welcome from expat Indians and later held a series of meetings with Nobel laureates, academicians, industry leaders, authors, mathematicians and medical professionals.
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“Met a group of people associated with key think tanks. We talked about different aspects of policy making and the emerging global trends. Emphasised on the positive changes in India and how they are being powered by our youth,” PM Modi tweeted after the meetings.
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Earlier, John Kirby, US National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications, said PM Modi’s visit “will strengthen our two countries’ shared commitment to a free, open, prosperous, and secure Indo-Pacific and our shared resolve to elevate our strategic technology partnership, including in defence, clean energy, and space”.
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India’s growing commitment to playing a more engaged international role, including in the Indo-Pacific Quad, demonstrates a new and growing willingness to join the United States to protect and advance a shared vision of a free, open, and rules-based global order,” he added.