PM Modi Arrives in Frankfurt Enroute to New York

Frankfurt, Germany: Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Frankfurt enroute to a five-day high-profile visit to the US during which he will address the UN General Assembly, hold talks with President Barack Obama and meet top American corporate executives besides series of other engagements.

PM Modi will spend the night in Frankfurt and will leave on Friday morning for New York where he will have a gruelling schedule including a rally at the famous Madison Square Garden on Sunday which is likely to be attended by around 20,000 people from the Indian-American community.

In New York, PM Modi will deliver his maiden address at the 69th session of the UN General Assembly on Saturday.

US President Barack Obama will host a rare private dinner for Prime Minister Modi at the White House on September 29, so as to establish a personal relationship with the Indian leader ahead of summit talks the next day. The two leaders are meeting for the first time.

The Prime Minister said he will discuss with President Obama how Indo-US ties can be taken to a "new level" in the interest of the two countries as well as of the world.

In a pre-departure statement in New Delhi, PM Modi said he will call for a stronger global commitment and more concerted multilateral action in addressing challenges of fragile global economy, turbulence and tension in many parts of the world, growth and spread of terrorism in his address at the United Nations.

Prime Minister Modi would be meeting as many as 11 top corporate executives over breakfast on September 29 apart from one-on-one meetings with six more business heads the same day in New York.

They include Google Executive Chairman Eric E Schmidt, Carlyle Group, Co-Founder and Co-CEO David M Rubenstein, Cargill President and CEO David W MacLennan, Merck & Co CEO Kenneth C Frazier, Hospira Chairman John C Staley, Citigroup CEO Michael L Corbat, Caterpillar Chairman and CEO Dough Oberhelman, MasterCard President and CEO Ajay Banga, and Pepsico Chairman and CEO Indra Nooyi.

The Prime Minister would also be having one-on-one meetings with six other senior executives. Besides Goldman Sachs Chairman and CEO Lloyd C Blankfein, PM Modi would be meeting Boeing Chairman and CEO W James McNerney Jr, BlackRock Chairman and CEO Laurence D Fink, IBM Chairman and CEO Ginni Rometty, General Electric Chairman and CEO Jeff Immelt, among others.

In New York, PM Modi will pay a visit to the 9/11 memorial on Saturday following which he is expected to drive down to the United Nations headquarters to address the 69th annual session of UN General Assembly. He would also meet UN General Secretary Ban Ki-moon.

PM Modi will also be participating in a business meet, to be organised by the USIBC, expected to be attended by 300-400 businessmen in Washington on September 30.