At the Modi & US event in New York, the Indian Prime Minister says he has always understood the potential and capabilities of the Indian diaspora, and they have been strong brand ambassadors of India
Our Bureau
New York, NY
In a historic speech on Sunday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi highlighted the unbreakable bond between India and its people, no matter where they are in the world and the key role the Indian diaspora plays in the relationship between India and the US. Addressing the Indian diaspora at Nassau Coliseum in New York, Long Island at Modi & US Event, he said, “You have connected India with America and America with India. Your skill, talent, and commitment are unmatched. Despite being overseas, no ocean can separate you from India.”
Prime Minister Modi was in New York to address the “Modi and US” program at the Nassau Coliseum in Long Island, New York, with 15,000 members of the Indian diaspora gathering from 42 different states to welcome the Prime Minister. During his address, PM Modi touched upon various facets of India-US relations, people-to-people ties, and India’s rising global stature and economic growth.
The massive community event was broadcast by NDTV 24×7 team in the US, with Vishnu Som and Natasha Israni reporting live from the venue.
In his initial remarks, lauding the contributions of the Indian diaspora, PM Modi said that Indians contribute to do the most no matter where they are. In his over one-hour-long speech, he also apprised the gathering of how India has become a key player in mobile manufacturing–from being an importer to an exporter, digital public infrastructure adoption. He added that the day is not far when Made in India chips will be available in America.
PM Modi said that he has always understood the potential and capabilities of the Indian diaspora, and for him, they have been strong brand ambassadors of India and he calls them “Rahstradoot”.
“Now Apna Namaste has also become multinational. It has gone from local to global and you have done all this. Every Indian who keeps India in his heart has done this,” PM Modi added. He also praised the Indian community for keeping up the tradition of “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam” that means “the world is one family.”
“While being PM, I have received immense love and affection from you. Wherever we go, we treat everyone as family and mingle with them. Understanding diversity, living it, implementing it in our lives… it is in our values. Someone speaks Tamil… someone Telugu, someone Malayalam, someone Kannada… someone Punjabi, someone Marathi, someone Gujarati… There are many languages, but the feeling is one… and that feeling is – Indianness,” said PM Modi.
Praising the Indian diaspora, Prime Minister recounted his old days and how interested he was to connect with them.
“Your love is my great fortune. I remember those days when I was not even the PM, not even the CM and not even a leader. At that time, I used to come here as a curiosity. Even before I was not holding any post, I had visited about 29 states of America. After that, when I became CM, the process of connecting with you through technology continued,” said PM Modi.
Speaking on the diversity of India, PM Modi said, “We are residents of a country where there are hundreds of languages and dialects, all the religions and sects of the world. Still, we are moving ahead united and noble. This is our biggest strength to connect with the world. These values naturally bind us to the world.”
PM Modi also expressed his heartfelt gratitude to United States President Joe Biden for his warm hospitality during a visit to his home in Delaware, stating that it “touched my heart.”
“I salute you all, the Indian diaspora. Wherever I go in the world, I hear praise for the Indian community from every leader. Yesterday, President Biden took me to his home in Delaware, and his warmth and hospitality touched my heart. This honor belongs to 1.4 billion Indians, it’s your honor, your achievement, and the honor of the millions of Indians living here. I express my gratitude to President Biden and to all of you,” said PM Modi.
Following his historic address to the Indian diaspora at Nassau Coliseum in New York, Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his gratitude to the city on Monday. In a post on social media platform X, PM Modi thanked the New York crowd who were present at the event and shared glimpses from the memorable community programme.
“Thank you, New York! These are glimpses from the memorable community programme. Grateful to all those who joined,” he said.
Later on, Sunday, Prime Minister Modi interacted with the CEOs of leading US-based companies to foster greater collaborations between the two countries in the cutting-edge areas of AI, quantum computing, semiconductors, and biotechnology, among others. PM Modi emphasized India’s growth prospects and discussed initiatives to foster collaborations and innovation across diverse sectors.
As Prime Minister Narendra Modi delivered his address to the Indian community at the historic event in New York on Sunday, the diaspora members said that they were very happy to be at the event, and are proud to be Indians.
After addressing the gathering at Nassau Coliseum Arena in New York, US, Prime Minister Modi greeted members of the Indian diaspora. At Nassau Coliseum in New York, Long Island to attend PM Modi’s address, an Indian diaspora member dressed as Goddess Yellamma Devi said,”…I am so proud to be an Indian, and I am very happy to be here. Wherever we go, we should be proud of our country.”
“I am so happy to be here…We respect him. They are going to take such happy memories… I am so proud to be an Indian,” another diaspora member said.
In his address, PM Modi said that the Indian Diaspora has always been the country’s strongest brand ambassadors.
The diaspora crowd gave a standing ovation to PM Modi, as he entered the event venue, and took the stage. Talented artists from the Indian community took the stage, setting the perfect tone for PM Modi’s address to the Indian diaspora in the US.
“We are here to see Modi ji. We have many expectations from him like on the issue of immigration,” a member of the Indian community, who is in Nassau Coliseum in New York, Long Island, said prior to his diaspora event.
“I am super excited to listen to Modi ji. We have come from Connecticut,” another member, Jaideep Shah, had said.
On Saturday, PM Modi took part in the Quad Summit and held bilateral meetings with US President Joe Biden, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, and Japan Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
Quad has emerged as a key group of like-minded countries to work for peace, progress and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region.
At the UN, PM Modi also held talks with Kuwait’s Crown Prince, Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah on how both countries can strengthen their ties in sectors like pharma, food processing, technology and energy, among others. PM Modi also thanked the Crown Prince for ensuring the well-being of the Indian community in Kuwait, which is the largest diaspora group in the country. “The meeting between the leadership of the two countries is expected to impart a fresh momentum to bilateral ties between India and Kuwait,” the MEA stated.
Taking to X, PM Modi said, “The talks with His Highness Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, the Crown Prince of Kuwait, were very productive. We discussed how to add vigor to India-Kuwait ties in sectors like pharma, food processing, technology, energy and more.”
He also held a bilateral meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. The Prime Minister expressed his “deep concern” at the humanitarian situation in Gaza and reaffirmed India’s continued support to the Palestinian people.
PM Modi arrived in New York in the second leg of his three-day visit to the United States. On Saturday, PM Modi took part in the Quad Summit and held bilateral meetings with US President Joe Biden, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, and Japan Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
He also addressed the ‘Summit of the Future’ at the UN General Assembly in New York.
PM Modi’s visit “successful and transformational”: USISPF chief
Noting that the ties between India and the United States continue on an upward trajectory because the two countries are “geopolitically, economically and technologically aligned”, President & CEO of the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF) Mukesh Aghi has said Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent visit to the United States was “very successful, very transformational”.
In an interview with ANI, Aghi said that takeaways from PM Modi’s three-day visit from September 21 to 23 is that the bilateral ties between two nations are “deeper, broader and moving in right direction.”
“I think the visit was very successful. I would say it was very transformational. When you look at the takeaway, it shows that the US-India relationship is deeper, broader and moving in the right direction. But more important is to look at the substance of the takeaway. Both countries agreed to look at India as a potential technological industrial base, all the way from moonshot and cancer research down to setting up chip plants in India for the military, looking at the GE engines manufacturing to atomic drone manufacturing. So, in every aspect, the US is taking its jewels and giving them to India for manufacturing. That means setting up an industrial manufacturing base in India,” he said.
USISPF President stressed that Quad Summit has become much more structured and added that four nations are looking at collaboration on Artificial Intelligence (AI), secure supply chain and sharing intelligence data.
“Quad Summit, if you look at it, has become much more structured. When it started, it was a summit which was focused more on all the navies getting together and trying to help disaster. But now it’s become very, very structured. When you look at the economies of four countries, it’s USD 35 trillion. They’re looking at collaborating on AI, looking at collaborating on secure supply chain, they’re looking at collaborating on sharing intelligence data. So, I think it’s become a much more, more, I would say, a non-announced alliances than anything else.”
Quad is a diplomatic partnership between four countries–Australia, India, Japan, and the United States. US President Joe Biden hosted Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and Australian PM Anthony Albanese for the Quad Leaders’ Summit at his hometown Wilmington in Delaware on September 21. It was the fourth in-person and sixth overall Quad Leaders’ Summit.
Aghi said that the ties between the US and India will continue on an upward trajectory irrespective of who becomes US President in the elections.
He also said that Indian diaspora is playing a pivotal role in the US presidential polls.
“I think whoever comes in, the impact on the US-India relationship does not go in a downward direction. The relationship continues in an upward trajectory because India and the US are geopolitically aligned, economically aligned, technologically aligned. So, I think it’s important to understand, regardless of who comes in, now the elections are too close to call, too close in every aspect because when you have an electoral college system, 10,000 votes in a district will make a difference itself.”
“So, I think it’s too early to say who will win, but the Indian diaspora is playing a very pivotal role. We saw the last data – almost 68 per cent are going to vote Democratic, the survey shows, and the remaining are going to vote for Republicans itself. But the trend is moving in the upward direction in Republicans’ favor also. Normally, it used to be Indians would vote for Democrats, but now what you’re saying is business community is focusing more on Republican candidates itself,” he added.
Apart from taking part in the Quad Summit, PM Modi had bilateral meetings with several leaders including Biden, engaged with the Indian diaspora and important American business leaders and addressed the Summit of the Future at the United Nations.
The US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF), formed in 2017, is an independent non-profit, non-governmental, and non-partisan organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with offices across both countries.
