White House defends inviting PM Modi for official state visit

White House had to defend an invite to the Indian Prime Minister, after US President Joe Biden to host Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for an official state visit on June 22.

The visit will strengthen our two countries’ shared commitment to a free, open, prosperous and secure Indo-Pacific and our shared resolve to elevate our strategic technology partnership, including in defense, clean energy, and space, Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement.

Asked about human rights concerns in India, Jean-Pierre defended the visit, telling reporters that Biden believes “this is an important relationship that we need to continue and build on as it relates to human rights.

A state dinner hosted by the President, honouring a visiting head of government, is one of the grandest of White House events. While Modi has visited the US during the terms of three US Presidents in his nine years as Prime Minister, this is the first time he has been invited to a state dinner.

But the invitation to Modi, who was shunned by Western nations for years after the 2002 Gujarat riots and denied a US visa in 2005 under the terms of a law that bars entry of foreigners who have committed “particularly severe violations of religious freedom”, triggered questions.

Are the optics problematic for the White House, with the White House giving India sort of the honour of a state visit when there are obvious human rights concerns under Prime Minister Modi and the fact that there are clear differences between the US and India when it comes to Russia and Ukraine? Jean-Pierre was asked.