Congressmen excited to hear PM Modi's address to Joint Session of US Congress
Jun 22, 2023
Washington DC [US], June 23 : Many US Congressmen are eager and excited to hear Prime Minister Narendra Modi's address to the Joint Session of the US Congress.
In an exclusive interview with ANI, US Congressmen Don Bacon from Omaha, Nebraska said, "Well, I'm excited to hear Prime Minister Modi. He represents the largest democracy, the fifth largest economy, and he's coming here. We're the oldest democracy and the largest economy."
He said that the two countries will have to work together in a world where we have China and Russia and Iran.
"We can be a voice together for much better good than just by ourselves. So I hope to hear from him, Desire to work together as partners for freedom, democracy, human rights and so forth," said Bacon.
He said that the partnership between the two countries is important as the US can't deal with China, Russia, and Iran "on our own."
"I don't say as a leader of the allies, equal allies. We just need strong alliances. And I believe India could be a game changer when it comes to dealing with Russia," said Bacon.
He also said that Indian people love PM Modi and he looked forward to hearing what he has to say at the joint address of the US Congress.
Meanwhile, Texas Representative Dan Crenshaw said that his area has a huge Indian population and there was a lot of interest from constituents coming from the Houston area.
"We're all excited to have him. I think our relationship with India is one of the most important we have and glad he's here. So we're excited," Crenshaw told ANI.
Veteran US Representative Mike Kelly from Pennsylvania, said that India and US rely on each other for many different things and it was an honour to have PM Modi here.
"It's an honour to have Modi come here today and be sitting at the House in full session. It shows how close the two nations and the two people are. I think that over the years we've formed this partnership that is so strong," he told ANI.
Meanwhile, Kentucky Representative Andy Barr, co-chair of the India Caucus in the Congress said that he is interested to meet PM Modi regarding his comments on the importance of the Quad, countering Chinese aggression and reducing trade barriers between India and US.
"I'm very interested, obviously, in his comments on the importance of the Quad, in our cooperation and countering Chinese aggression. I'm interested in the conversation about reducing trade barriers between our countries and continuing to give the United States greater market access to India and deepen our economic ties in addition to our security ties," he told ANI.
Barr said that he was interested in hearing PM Modi talk about ways in which the two countries can continue long-standing friendship and alliance, and especially in the area of energy and military equipment.
"To the extent that our deepening relationship can limit India's dependence on Russian energy and military equipment, I think that will strengthen our very important bilateral relationship," said Barr.
Kentucky has a very active, engaged Indian-American presence and also an Indian diaspora.