Daijiworld Media Network - Houston (SHP)
Houston, Aug 22: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be addressing a community event titled 'Howdy, Modi!' in Houston, USA in September. Over 50,000 people have already registered for the community event.
According to a Texas India Forum, the mega community summit at the NRG stadium is already sold out after 50,000 supporters registered.
New registrants will be placed on the waiting list and university students can register until August 29, under the special allotment bracket.
On September 27, PM Modi is scheduled to visit the UN General Assembly, before which he will make a pit stop at the community summit. He will be addressing the biggest gathering in the city where around 130,000 Indian-Americans reside. The summit will be the largest live audience for an Indian PM in North America and a foreign leader in the US, other being Pope Francis.
"Shared Dreams, Bright Futures" is the tagline of the summit which would highlight the contributions of Indian-Americans to enrich the American life and play a major role in strengthening relations between the two nations.
"On behalf of the hundreds of thousands of the Indian-Americans in Texas, and as co-chair of the Senate India Caucus, I welcome Prime Minister Modi to Houston," said US Senator John Cornyn.
One of the key points to be addressed in the summit would be strengthening trade relations between the two nations. India is Houston's fourth-largest trading partner behind Brazil, China, and Mexico.
A live broadcast will be carried out for people across the US and India reaching over 1 billion people. An English translation of the summit will be available via smartphones as per the organizers.
To display the cultural diversity in the US, instead of Indian performers, the Indian-American community will be organizing a cultural programme at the summit.
"Houston is one of the most diverse cities in America and has many advantages including a central location and access to global trade routes, a trained and talented workforce, and a business-friendly regulatory environment, making this region an ideal partner for business and commerce," said Bhavesh (Bob) Patel, CEO of LyondellBase.
This will be PM Modi's the first major summit after his re-election in May.