PM Modi to address US Congress June 8

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address a joint meeting of the US Congress on June 8 during the leader’s visit to Washington, House Speaker Paul Ryan announced Thursday.

The address will be the fifth to a joint meeting of Congress by an Indian PM, and the first since 2005.

“This address presents a special opportunity to hear from the elected leader of the world’s most populous democracy on how our two nations can work together to promote our shared values and to increase prosperity,” Mr Ryan said.

“The friendship between our nations is a pillar of stability in a very, very important region.”

The United States and India held high-level bilateral talks as recently as early April, when US defense secretary Ashton Carter met Indian defense minister Manohar Parrikar in New Delhi.

Mr Carter traveled to India to bolster a strategic relationship Washington considers crucial in the face of what it sees as China’s rising assertiveness, particularly in the South China Sea.

House foreign affairs committee chairman Ed Royce welcomed Mr Ryan’s invitation to the Indian Prime Minister as a chance to work together “to promote peace and prosperity”.

“Our partnership in areas such as defense, nuclear power, renewable energy and space exploration is very strong, thanks to our many shared values,” Mr Royce said in a statement.