New Delhi, June 5
Shunned by Washington for years over the Gujarat riots, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is now set to become a personal guest of American President Barack Obama when he travels to the US in September.

US Assistant Secretary and Obama’s point person for South and Central Asia, is arriving here tomorrow to hold talks with Indian officials on a range of issues. The dates for a meeting between Obama and Modi could also be finalised. The Indian Ambassador to the US, S Jaishankar, is also coming to Delhi for consultations.

Although no official announcement has been made by either side so far, it is learnt that Modi has accepted Obama’s invitation. The US President had telephoned Modi on May 19 to congratulate him on his party’s victory in the Lok Sabha elections and invited him to Washington.

Washington has proposed September 30 as the date for the meeting, but New Delhi is looking at clubbing the summit between the two leaders with the Indian PM’s visit for the UN General Assembly around September 26.

Before the PM’s visit, the two countries are scheduled to hold their annual strategic dialogue in Washington, to be co-chaired by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Secretary of State John Kerry. However, a top American senator has called for holding the dialogue in Delhi as against the scheduled venue of Washington as a goodwill gesture towards the Modi government.

It is becoming clear that the Obama administration is keen to reach out to Modi, who has had an uneasy relationship with Washington since the 2002 riots. America had consistently denied him visa since 2005.

Modi’s decision to accept Obama’s invite is being seen as yet another pragmatic step in building his foreign policy after his invitation to SAARC leaders to attend his swearing-in ceremony. He also appears to be keen to mend fences with Washington.

When he hosts Modi, Obama also would be breaking the US protocol by escorting an Indian PM to the White House for a second year in a row. Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was Obama’s guest in September last year.