This Article is From Oct 01, 2014

PM Complimented on 'Rock Star Reception' by Top US Officials

PM Complimented on 'Rock Star Reception' by Top US Officials

US Secretary of State John Kerry, left, and Vice President Joe Biden honour PM Modi at a luncheon on Tuesday. (Associated Press)

Washington DC: After Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with President Barack Obama at the White House,  the PM, who is fasting, attended a lunch in his honour hosted by Vice President Joe Biden.

Speaking at the event, US Secretary of State John Kerry said, "We can never top the rock star reception you got at Madison Square Garden."

He was referring to the raucous welcome given to the PM on Sunday by nearly 18,000 Indian Americans at New York's Madison Square Garden, a venue that has hosted performances by some of the world's most popular musicians.

The PM's headline-grabbing tour of the US also included an address to the United Nations and a breakfast meeting with top CEOs of American firms.

In a joint op-ed in the Washington Post today, the PM Modi and President Obama lauded the partnership between the world's oldest democracy and its largest one, but said there was much more to come.

"The true potential of our relationship has yet to be fully realised," they wrote. "The advent of a new government in India is a natural opportunity to broaden and deepen our relationship."

The PM made his white House debut on Monday when he attended a private dinner hosted by President Obama at the ornate Blue Room of the presidential residence.

Mr Modi had given advance notice he would not eat as he is in the middle of the nine-day Navratri fast which he observes every year.

"The PM is fasting and we keep taking him to lunch and dinner," joked Vice President Biden today, provoking laughter by the attendees at the luncheon for the PM.  

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