Paul Ryan invites India's PM Narendra Modi to address Congress
Speaker Paul Ryan has invited India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi to address a joint meeting of Congress this summer.
The Wisconsin Republican made the announcement during his press conference Thursday -- this will be Ryan's first joint meeting as speaker. He called the U.S.-India relationship a "pillar of stability" in an important region of the world.
"This address presents a special opportunity to hear from the elected leader of the world's most populous democracy on how our two nations can work together to promote our shared values and to increase prosperity. We look forward to welcoming Prime Minister Modi to the United States Capitol," Ryan said.
Modi is slated to visit Washington in early June for a bilateral summit with President Obama, according to reports. He has served as prime minister of India since May 2014 and will be the fifth prime minister of India to address a joint meeting of Congress.
Pope Francis was the last person to address Congress last September. Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Afghan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also addressed joint meetings of Congress last year.