Manmohan Singh's first appointment on the first day of his first ever visit to the US after becoming the prime minister will be a breakfast meeting with President George W Bush.
In spite of Singh's United Progressive Alliance government having assumed power less than four months back and less than two months left for President Bush's term to end, he is seeking re-election, the meeting does not become any less important because of the growing economic, diplomatic and military ties between the two countries.
"You will be absolutely incorrect if you think that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit will be a low key event,' says a senior diplomat dealing with US affairs.
Leaving India on September 19, Singh will have a stopover in London for a meeting with British Prime Minister Tony Blair. He will then proceed to the US, arriving in New York late on September 20.
On September 21, he will meet Bush at 8am for breakfast.
Singh will be accompanied by External Affairs Minister Natwar Singh and National Security Adviser J N Dixit. The latter is expected to give inputs on India's expectations with regard to the ongoing global fight against terrorism led by America.
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Another important event is an interaction with around 50 CEOs of American companies at a lunch hosted by the New York Stock Exchange. The prime minister enjoys a good reputation among American businessmen and will use this goodwill to attract investment in infrastructure projects, which at present is below potential.
His investment pitch will be backed by the newly formed committee on infrastructure, chaired by the prime minister, to clear bottlenecks in infrastructure policy.
Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia will come into the picture at this juncture. He chairs the Indo-US Economic Dialogue from the Indian side. Incidentally, Under Secretary Alan Larson, who is deputy chairman from the US side, was in Delhi on Wednesday meeting businessmen and officials of the ministry of external affairs.
According to the PM's media adviser Sanjay Baru, "The prime minister will emphasis that India, with its stable democracy and rule of law, offers an environment to do good business. India has proved that it offers significant return on investment and expects more trade and investment."
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On September 23, he will make his maiden address to the United Nations General Assembly. Same day, he will also meet young Indian-American CEOs.
On September 24, he will meet members of the powerful American Jewish Committee.
In between, he will attend functions organised by the Indian community, Asia Society and Council of Foreign Relations.
There will be two personal events during the week-long trip. Singh will spend one day with his daughter who lives in New York and, on his way back, celebrate his birthday on September 26 when he turns 72.
PM's itinerary:
Sep 19: Depart for UK
Sep 20: Meet British Prime Minister Tony Blair, leave for New York
Sep 21: Breakfast with US President George W Bush
Sep 22: Meet Pakistan President Gen Pervez Musharraf, lunch with CEOs of American companies
Sep 23: Address UN General Assembly, meet Indian-American CEOs
Sep 24: Meet members of American Jewish Committee
Sep 26: Return to India