Look forward to continuing work with PM Modi: US

Ahead of his key address at a joint meeting of the US Congress next month, the Barack Obama government has asserted that it is looking forward to continue to work with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on all fronts to strengthen ties between two nations.

Talking about the Prime Minister's upcoming visit to the US on June 8th, state department spokesperson John Kirby said in a press briefing, that the ties between the two nations represented a 'special relationship'. "It's one that we'e very committed to, and we look forward to continuing to work with Prime Minister Modi on all the different areas in which the United States and India will and must work together,"Kirby said.

He will be the fifth Indian Prime Minister to address a joint meeting of Congress, and the first since 2005. The first-ever Indian premier to make such a speech was Rajiv Gandhi in 1985, followed by P.V. Narasimha Rao in 1994 and Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 2000.

Prime Minister Modi will be the fifth, speaking 11 years after his predecessor, Congress leader Manmohan Singh. Every full-term prime minister since 1984 has addressed a joint meeting of the House and Senate.