US House speaker invites India's Modi to address joint session of Congress

Speaker of the US House of Representatives Kevin McCarthy announced Friday that he has invited Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to address a joint session of Congress.

The address is slated to take place in late June when Modi will be fetted by US President Joe Biden with an official state visit replete with pomp and circumstance as Washington seeks to bolster its partnerships in the Indo-Pacific amid increasing great power competition with China.

In a letter to the Indian leader dated Thursday, McCarthy asks Modi to address Congress on June 22, saying "you will have the opportunity to share your vision for India's future and speak to the global challenges our countries both face."

"Your historic address to a Joint Meeting of Congress seven years ago left a lasting impact and greatly deepened the friendship between the United States and India," he wrote. "We look forward to paving the way for greater collaboration between our countries in the years to come."

Modi's visit to Washington will mark his first since Biden assumed office in January 2021. Just two other world leaders have been granted state visits by Biden -- French President Emmanuel Macron in December, and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol in April.