'Declined Trump's invitation as I had to visit Lord Jagannath's holy land': PM Modi in Odisha
Bhubaneswar/IBNS: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said he declined US President Donald Trump's invitation to visit Washington, DC, as he had to return to the "holy land of Lord Jagannath" in Odisha's Bhubaneswar.
PM Modi attended the G7 Summit in Canada recently, where he met with several heads of state, including French President Emmanuel Macron.
It was during the G7 Summit that Trump, during a phone call to PM Modi, invited him to visit Washington, DC.
"I was in Canada for the G7 Summit when US President [Donald] Trump called and invited me to Washington for a discussion and lunch. I thanked him for the invitation, saying I have to visit Odisha, the land of Lord Jagannath. I humbly rejected his invitation," PM Modi said at a public event in Bhubaneswar.
It was the first time PM Modi participated in the first anniversary celebrations of the BJP government in Odisha.
आज भुवनेश्वर में अलग-अलग क्षेत्रों में अपनी उपलब्धियों के लिए सम्मानित लखपति दीदियों से मिलकर काफी खुशी हुई। अपने दृढ़ संकल्प से वे ना सिर्फ राज्य की समृद्धि में योगदान कर रही हैं, बल्कि देशभर के लिए मिसाल बन रही हैं। pic.twitter.com/xPU660kRhv
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) June 20, 2025
He also launched development projects worth over Rs. 18,600 crore.
Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, in a statement, said PM Modi invited Trump to visit India for the Quad Summit, likely to be held later this year.
The two leaders were scheduled to meet in Canada on the sidelines of the G7 Summit. However, Trump left the Summit midway amid rising hostilities between Israel and Iran.
