Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was greeted by a packed house when he arrived on the stage at NRG Stadium in Houston where he will address the gathering shortly.

“India is the largest democracy on face of Earth. America is proud to be your friend. Today is also a celebration of the Indian-American community in USA including in Texas. We say thank you to you for your incredible contributions,” US Senator for Texas, Ted Cruz was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.

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More than 50, 000 Indian Americans are attending the ‘Howdy, Modi’ event who had been queuing up outside the NRG Football Stadium, the venue, from early morning. This is PM Modi’s first visit to the US since he took office after the Lok Sabha Elections 2019.

Also, this is his third meeting with President Donald Trump of the USA in three months and the two leaders are scheduled to meet for a bilateral summit on Tuesday and later on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly on September 27, say the reports.

Senator John Cornyn of the US called it a Texas-sized welcome for PM Modi, adding that India is one of the best friends and partners of the USA and the state of Texas is India’s second-largest trading partner in the US.

More than 50,000 Indian-Americans from across the country have registered for the Howdy, Modi! event, the largest-ever gathering of this minority by the affluent ethnic community in the US. “By coming to Houston and attending the Howdy, Modi! event, he (Trump) has won the hearts of Indian-Americans. He will earn more votes from Indian Americans in the 2020 presidential elections,” eminent Indian-American community leader from Indiana Bharat Barai told PTI, adding, “Leaders of the two largest democracies in the world addressing more than 50,000 people from one platform is historic. This will further cement India-US relationship.”