Houston: Prime Minister Narendra Modi was Sunday presented with the keys to the Houston City by its Mayor Sylvester Turner on his arrival at the ‘Howdy Modi’ mega event here.
After welcoming Modi at the event, Turner handed over the oversized keys to the city of Houston to him.
At the event start of the event, Turner told the crowd that Houston is the most diverse city in the county. “In Houston, we say howdy in more than 140 languages,” Turner said, “and this morning we are saying howdy to Modi!”
About two dozen governors and members of the US Congress are also attending the event. Houston has one of the largest concentration of the Indian-American community in the US.
Earlier in the day, Modi was accorded a rousing welcome when he arrived at the crowded NSG stadium to address the Indian-American community along with US President Donald Trump.
Trump would join Modi as a “special gesture” by the US President to underscore the special bond between the two countries. It is for the first time that Trump and Modi would share a stage together and address a record crowd of 50,000 Indian-Americans.
Welcoming Prime Minister Modi, Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner highlighted the significance of the event and said that Indians have been a key figure in the development of his city.
“Honoured to say Howdy to Modi in Houston.” he said.
Organised by the non-profit Texas India Forum, the event, with the tagline ‘Shared Dreams, Bright Futures’, will shine light on the tremendous contribution of Indo-Americans in United States and the strong and lasting partnership between the US and India.
Ahead of Prime Minister Modi’s address, Indian-American artists from Texas and elsewhere performed cultural programmes.