Modi’s US Visit: With Last-Minute Confirmation, How USICF Set Out Diaspora Event at Reagan Building

Nearly 1,000 people from the Indian diaspora, including Sikhs, Gujaratis, Telejus, Tamils ​​and Maharashtrians will fill the lobby of the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington on the evening of June 23 for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s community event, just two blocks from the prestigious White House.

This diaspora event might have been much bigger and grander in a Chicago stadium, but for the belated confirmation of the dates for Modi’s “official state visit” by the White House and Prime Minister Modi’s tight schedule given his subsequent visit to Egypt, News18 has learned. On his previous trips to the US, Modi has held large diaspora events at Madison Square Garden and in Houston.

“We booked two stadiums in Chicago – the United Center, which is the largest arena in the US, and Soldier Field – long before we got the first indication in January this year of Prime Minister Modi’s visit to the US,” said Dr. Bharat Parai, president of the American Indian Community Foundation (USICF), which organizes the diaspora event, told News18 by phone.

Paray said he was the lead organizer of Modi’s Madison Square Garden event in 2014. With Modi already holding diaspora events in New York, San Jose, Texas and Houston on his previous trips, the choice this time around was expected to be Chicago. “The indication was that the trip could be between June 15th and 20th, so we booked the United Center,” said Paray.

He said that the US administration, however, was preoccupied with the state visit of the South Korean president in April, and there was no confirmation of the dates for PM Modi’s visit. “We’ve booked Soldier Field as well as a back-up. Both stadiums can seat 40,000-45,000 people. We held these stadiums until April but we had to give up both because the White House didn’t confirm the dates,” Paray told News18.

Paray said that on May 10 the White House announced PM Modi’s visit, but only a state dinner on June 22 was announced, and the detailed program was still unknown until the last week of May. On May 29, Barai said he met the Indian ambassador to the US and also spoke with Foreign Minister S.P. “They were supportive, but we were told that the prime minister would travel to Egypt on the evening of June 23 and that his last event would end at 6 pm,” Barai said.

This meant that there was no time for the prime minister to travel from Washington to Chicago for the diaspora event. With the help of the government, Paray said, they were able to set aside a two-hour time slot for the Diaspora event in Washington from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. on June 23. “Most hotels in Washington don’t seat more than 1,000 people. We only had three weeks to arrange everything. The lobby of the Ronald Reagan Center can seat 1,000, so it was finally chosen,” Baray says.

He said the prime minister was gracious enough to delay his departure to Cairo for a bit to meet and address the Indian diaspora. The USICF leaves no stone unturned to turn the diaspora event into a huge success and has invited American Indians from all over the United States. He said the crowd of 1,000 people would reflect the population of the Indian diaspora in the United States and up to 60 Sikhs could participate in the event.

Some notable Indian Americans will have the opportunity to greet the Prime Minister during the Welcome Ceremony on the White House lawn on June 22, to which many of them have been invited. Some have been invited to formal dinners as well. The PM will also meet some members of the Indian diaspora along with CEOs during the event at the Kennedy Center on June 23.

The historic trip to the United States, the second by an Indian prime minister on an official state visit, begins with his departure around 7 am on Tuesday. He will arrive in New York on Tuesday afternoon and will hold meetings with “thought leaders” such as scientists, heads of think tanks, Nobel Prize-winning academics and cultural leaders in New York for the rest of the day.