Narendra Modi invited to the US on a state visit: What are state visits?

What are state visits?

State visits are visits to foreign countries led by a head of state/government, acting in their sovereign capacity. They are, therefore, officially described as a “visit of [name of state]” rather than “visit of [name of leader]”. State visits to the US only occur on the invitation of the president of the United States, acting in their capacity as the head of state.

State visits are typically a few days long and comprise a number of elaborate ceremonies, subject to the schedule of the visiting head of state. In the US, these ceremonies include, a flight line ceremony (where the visiting head of state is greeted at the tarmac after landing), a 21-gun salute White House arrival ceremony, a White House dinner, exchange of diplomatic gifts, an invitation to stay at the Blair House (the US President’s guesthouse across the Pennsylvania Avenue) and flag streetlining.

Narendra Modi’s visit will include a state dinner on June 22.

Is every visit by a foreign leader a state visit?

No. State visits are the highest-ranked category of foreign visits with great ceremonial importance and are considered to be the highest expression of friendly bilateral relations. However, these are relatively rare, primarily to maintain their prestige and symbolic status. For instance, according to US’s diplomatic policy, the president can host no more than one leader from any nation once every four years.

Less important visits are classified (in descending order of magnitude, according to US diplomatic policy) as official visits, official working visits, working visits, guest-of-government visits, and private visits. Each of these visits have different protocols to be followed.

The major difference between these visits and a state visit is that state visits are made in sovereign capacity with only the head of state (head of government in case of parliamentary democracies due to the ceremonial nature of their heads of state) allowed to make the visits. Other visits can be made by a number of other important leaders including crown princes, vice-presidents, ceremonial heads of state, etc.

State visits also include many more, highly elaborate ceremonies. While invitations are required for any visit (with exception of private visits), these invitations are sent out more freely than the ones for state visits.

PM Modi’s previous visits were classified as a working visit (2014), working lunch (2016) and official working visit (2017). His 2019 visit is described by the US Department of State website as one in which he “Participated in a rally in Houston, Texas”.

Are state visits more important?

Yes and no. While officially and ceremonially, state visits are the most prestigious, for actual diplomatic work, the classification of the visit makes little difference. Working visits can accomplish just as much in fostering a healthy relationship with another country as state visits. In fact, given the rarity of state visits and the ceremonial functions they bring with them, most work actually gets done in other visits.