Edison Mayor Sam Joshi received a high honor yesterday when he was invited to a state dinner with President Biden and the prime minister of India Narendra Modi the event which was filled with Pomp and Circumstance was an attempt for the two Democratic countries to strengthen their relationship and set some mutual goals including renewable energy and strengthening military defenses for mayor Joshi the meeting was significant given that he's the first indian-american mayor elected to lead the town of Edison and he's with me now to talk about it mayor thank you so much for being with us tonight just tell us a little bit about what the joint session on Congress was like yesterday how was the Prime Minister received it was a very warm welcome by and it was really wonderful to see that it was bipartisan support I was genuinely surprised at how many both Democrats and Republicans all the Full Count the full chamber came together with the exception of a few individuals uh and United to support the union prime minister uh and his speech the relationship between India and the United States has been strained recently why was this visit from Prime Minister Modi so significant this is it was a very significant speech because the Prime Minister and actually the President Biden and Joint session they're making a big bet essentially on India and the Strategic relations behind the supply chain as well as defense for the United States and that's why you saw Japan South Korea Australia and India really come together for this uh in unity and uh that's that's really what it was all about there were some mutual goals set forward especially as it comes to electric buses something that's been a concern for a long time what what to you were the biggest takeaways I think the biggest takeaway was one defense you saw the largest Applause for defense and then you also saw a huge Applause for supply chain and that's really unique because right now our supply chain comes from all over the world especially China but when you see you have another Ally as an opportunity uh such as India that's when India can step up and really take on the supply chain as well for the greater part of Asia you are the mayor of Edison a town that has a very large Indian population what did this visit mean to you to the Indian American community in Edison and really to the broader community in Edison yes India does have one of the largest if not the largest populations of Indian Americans in the United States and it was a sense of Pride uh for me it was just the center of Pride it was wonderful to see that all the acknowledgments uh from all the members of the House and Senate uh came together and it was a supporting the Indian Community as well as Union government uh and knowing that we have a common interest in the largest democracies in the world and I was quite frankly just happy to be a part of the event as well as the welcoming delegation so that we can further our relationships and that's really what was special for me you know we have to point out that Prime Minister Modi has been criticized by some for uh anti-muslim messages in India especially in his home state we've seen some of those anti-muslim messages in Edison play out during last Summer's India Day Parade have you gotten any feedback from the Muslim Community in Edison any negative pushback uh on this visit no and I think it's different because it was an invitation directly from the president as well as a number of elected officials uh from throughout the country and uh the uh government of India and what was you know for me I dismissed any sort of uh hatred or discrimination at all levels on a local level I try to do everything I can to unite uh all of our communities but for this specific visit I was just happy to be a part of uh welcoming the you know bringing Unity towards a common goal common interests and how we can make the lives of Americans better Edison Mayor Sam Joshi thank you so much