Washington DC/IBNS: Prime Minister Narendra Modi Thursday addressed the historic joint session of the US Congress where he reiterated that the Indo-Pacific region is a "shard concern" and shared a vision that the region should be "free from domination", a comment that was seen by many as a reference to China.  

Without naming China, he said, "Dark clouds of coercion and confrontation are casting their shadow in the Indo-pacific. The stability of the region has become one of the central concerns of our partnership."

"We share a vision of a free, open, and inclusive Indo-Pacific, connected by secure seas, defined by international law, free from domination and anchored in ASEAN centrality... A region where all nations small and large, are free and fearless and in their choices, where progress is not suffocated by an impossible burden of debt, where connectivity is not leveraged for strategic purposes..." he said in his address to the joint session of the US Congress.

Remembering his past visits to the US, PM Modi said: "Through the long and widening road that we have travelled, we have made the test of friendship. A lot has changed since I came here 7 summers ago. However, a lot has remained the same, like our commitment to deepen the friendship between India and the US."

He said that in the past few years, there have been many advances in Artificial Intelligence. "At the same time, there has been even more momentous development in other AI, America and India," the Indian PM added.

Lauding America for embracing people from the world, PM Modi said: "Throughout your history, you have embraced people from around the world, and you have made them equal partners in the American dream. There are millions here who have roots in India. Some of them sit here proudly in this chamber."

Speaking about the India-US ties, he said: "Now the US is the oldest and India is the largest democracy. Our partnership augurs well for the future of democracy. Together, we shall give a better future to the world and a better world to the future."

"Last year, India celebrated 75 years of its independence. Every milestone is important, but this one was special. We celebrated a remarkable journey of our 75 years of freedom after 1000 years of foreign rule in one form or another. This was not just a celebration of democracy, but also of diversity...

"We have over 2500 political parties...About 20 different parties govern various states of India. We have 22 official languages and thousands of dialects, yet we speak in one voice. Every 100 miles our cuisine changes, from dosa to aloo paratha....

"Today, the world wants to know more and more about India. I see that curiosity in this house, too. We were honoured to receive around 100 members of the US Congress over the last decade. Everyone wants to understand India's development, democracy and diversity," PM Modi said proudly.

Modi said when he first visited the US as the PM, India was the 10th largest economy in the world.

"Today, India is the 5th largest economy. And India will be the third-largest economy soon....When India grows the whole world grows," he added.

"In India, technology is not just about innovation, it's about inclusion. Today, digital performance is empowering the rights and dignity of people while protecting privacy. In the last 9 years, over a billion got a unique digital biometric identity connected to their bank accounts and mobile phones."

Speaking about India-US relations, PM Modi said: "Our relations are of great importance to all of you...When defence and aerospace in India grow, industries in the many states of the US thrive. When American companies grow the research and development centres in India thrive. When Indians fly more, a single order for aircraft creates more than a million jobs in 44 states in the US."

PM Modi said the scope of cooperation between both countries is endless, "the potential of our synergies is limitless and the chemistry in our relations is effortless."

Talking about terrorism, the Indian PM said: "More than two decades after 9/11 and more than a decade after 26/11 in Mumbai, radicalism and terrorism still remain a pressing danger for the whole world."

"These ideologies keep taking new forms and identities but their intentions are the same. Terrorism is an enemy of humanity and there can be no ifs and buts in dealing with it."

Reiterating the need for dialogue to end the Ukraine war, PM Modi said: "I have said publicly, this is not an era of war. But it's one of dialogue and diplomacy. We must do what we can to stop the bloodshed and human suffering."

"Terrorism is an enemy of humanity, and there can be no ifs and buts in dealing with it," he added.

"Even by the highest standards of our partnership, this visit is one of the great positive transformations. Together we shall demonstrate that democracies matter and democracies deliver," the PM said.

His speech not only earned him a standing ovation but PM Modi was seen surrounded by US Congressmen to take autographs and selfies with him after his address to the joint sitting of the US Congress.

This second historic joint address by PM Modi is a first for an Indian leader and a rarity for the rest of the world as well.