Houston set to host Howdy Modi despite heavy rains; event marks Indian PM, Donald Trump’s first meet outside Washington, New York

Houston: The stage is all set at the sprawling NRG stadium for the historic Howdy Modi event on Sunday where Prime Minister Narendra Modi is going to address close to 50,000 Indian-Americans, with US President Donald Trump in tow. [caption id=“attachment_7134121” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File image of Narendra Modi. PTI[/caption] The event, which will be hosted by Texas India (TI) Forum on 22 September, “is an attempt to bring together tens of thousands of people to encourage and explore common interests and an expanded partnership between the United States and India’s fast-growing economy,’’ as per a statement by the organisers. Even as rains have brought life to a standstill in the American state, the organisers remain positive about the success of Sunday’s mega-event, which will be the first of its kind. The White House on Monday (local time) had confirmed Trump’s plan to attend the occasion in what will be one of the largest events to welcome a foreign head of government ever in the history of the United States. In the United States, the Houston event will mark the first time the head of the states would meet outside of Washington DC or New York, where the United Nations is headquartered. Earlier in a statement, White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham said, “It (Modi-Trump joint rally) will be a great opportunity to emphasise the strong ties between the people of the United States and India, to reaffirm the strategic partnership between the world’s oldest and largest democracies, and to discuss ways to deepen their energy and trade relationship.” Modi has previously addressed similar gatherings at Madison Square Garden in New York and the SAP Center in San Jose.