After a successful Yoga event at UN Headquarters, PM Narendra Modi will address the US Congress on Thursday. He is the only Indian Prime Minister to address a joint meeting of the House of Representatives and Senate, one of the highest honours Washington affords to foreign dignitaries twice.
Reportedly, in response to the invitation, Prime Minister Modi thanked Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy and added, "I am honoured to accept and look forward to once again addressing a Joint Meeting of the Congress. We are proud of our Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership with the US, which is based on a commitment to lasting peace and prosperity for all peoples, strong people-to-people ties, and shared democratic ideals.”
List of Indian Prime Ministers Who Addressed UN Congress
The legislative of the U.S. federal government is known as the United States Congress. It is bicameral, with the House of Representatives as its lower body and the Senate as its upper body. The legislative assembly is referred to as Congress.
1. Jawahar Lal Nehru
Jawahar Lal Nehru was the Indian PM to address US Congress in 1949. He spoke to the crowd for 15 minutes, in the presence of President Harry S. Truman. Discussing the similarities between the United States and India, he stated, “I have come here, therefore, on a voyage of discovery of the mind and heart of America and to place before you our own mind and heart. Thus we may promote that understanding and cooperation which, I feel sure, both our countries earnestly desire.”
2. Rajiv Gandhi
On June 13, 1985, Rajiv Gandhi, was the first to address the joint meeting of Congress. Some excerpts from his speech are, “The ties that bind our two peoples are many. Some are the curiosities of history. You gained your independence as we were losing ours and many of the people involved were the same. We wish that Elihu Yale had founded a university for us instead of being Governor of Madras and that Lord Cornwallis had surrendered in Delhi rather than to General Washington. It was Indian tea that stimulated your independence movement. I do not know how many of the waters around Boston are still coloured by that historic incident, but - and I am sure, Mr Speaker, that you will correct me if I am wrong - today there are thousands of people of Indian origin in your city, as indeed all over the U.S.A., who are making notable contributions to your society, including the third Nobel laureate born in India.”
3. P.V Narasimha Rao
On May 18, 1994, P.V. Narasimha Rao addressed Congress. He emphasized on India-America relationship and focussed on the idea of mutual growth. In his speech, he said, “As India stands poised to contribute to global prosperity and peace in the next century, we look forward to continuing our partnership with American and American people.
The international community needs to strengthen the U.N. and provide more resources if we expect it to respond to today’s challenges. It is our strong feeling, too, that the UN decision-making bodies must more accurately reflect the regional situation of states in the world.”
4. Atal Bihari Vajpayee
On September 14, 2000, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, India’s first prime minister from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) gave a speech at U.S. Congress. He began his address with being grateful and continued with, “In November 1999 a remarkable event took place in the House of Representatives. By a vote of 396 to 4, the House adopted a resolution congratulating India and my government on the successful elections completed in October 1999. This display of broad-based bipartisan support for strengthening relations with India is heartening.
…We are determined to sustain the momentum of our economy: our aim is to double our per capita income in ten years -- and that means we must grow at 9 per cent a year.
To achieve this order of growth we have ushered in comprehensive reforms. We are committed to releasing the creative genius of our people, the entrepreneurial skills of the men and women of the country, of its scientists and craftsmen. At the same time, we in India, remain committed to the primacy of the State in fulfilling its social obligations to the deprived, the weak and the poor…”
5. Manmohan Singh
Former PM Manmohan Singh was the 5th Indian prime minister to address the US Congress. On July 19, 2025, while addressing the House, he said, “In addition to the values we share as democracies, there is also a convergence in our perceptions of a rapidly transforming global environment, bringing us much closer together now that any time in the past.”
6. Narendra Modi
PM Narendra Modi will become the first Indian prime minister to be accorded the honour of addressing a joint session of the US Congress twice. The Prime Minister, during his address in 2016 had spoken on issues ranging from climate change to terrorism, defence and security cooperation to trade and economic relationship between India and the US.
Every prime minister has described the goals and successes of their economic policies and efforts for improving international relations. Also, Indian prime leaders have frequently argued for technological aid, transfers, or partnership, citing the United States as a key supplier of technology.
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