Narendra Modi, Nancy Powell meet, nine-year-old US boycott ends

US Ambassador Nancy Powell met Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi at his official residence for 45 minutes along with Consul General Peter Haas and other top Gujarat government officials, signalling the end of the US boycott of Modi since 2005. (PTI)

The US government had denied Narendra Modi a diplomatic visa and revoked his personal visa because of the communal violence in 2002 that claimed nearly 2000 lives.

Nancy Powell is the highest US official to have met Narendra Modi since the visa ban of 2005, though the issue did not come up for discussion in their talks, said sources. Narendra Modi welcomed her with a bunch of red and yellow roses, as the diplomat began her two-day Gujarat visit.

The US consulate in an official release, however, described the meeting as “part of the U.S. Mission’s outreach to senior leaders of India’s major political parties in advance of the upcoming national elections”.

Powell will also visit the Adalaj stepwell, a unique piece of heritage architecture for water conservation, here in Gandhinagar. On her itinerary are a visit to the Self Employed Women’s Association (SEWA) office in Navrangpura area of Ahmedabad and the Mount Carmel school