- By Staff Reporter
WASHINGTON, D.C. (TIP): President Donald Trump hosted a Diwali reception to India’s Ambassador to the US Vinay Kwatra and a few members of the Indian American community that included prominent Indian American business figures, IBM CEO Arvind Krishna, Palo Alto Networks CEO Nikesh Arora, Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen and Micron Technology CEO Sanjay Mehrotra, and Prem Parameswaran, Managing Director and member of the Capital Markets team at Stone Point Capital, and a former member of Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.
A number of Trump administration officials attended the event, including FBI Director Kash Patel, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and White House Deputy Press Secretary Kush Desai.
During his opening address, the president said: “On behalf of all Americans, let me also extend our warmest wishes to the people of India. I just spoke to your prime minister today. We had a great conversation. We talked about trade. We talked about a lot of things.”
Earlier, President Trump lighted the ceremonial lamp.
Ambassador Vinay Kwatra wrote on X that he was “deeply honoured to join President Donald J. Trump at the White House today to celebrate Diwali.
Wished him on behalf of Prime Minister Narendra Modi a Happy Diwali and thanked him for this beautiful gesture. Warm Diwali greetings to all celebrating, especially the vibrant 5 million-strong Indian diaspora in the U.S.”
Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, celebrates Lord Rama’s return to Ayodhya after a 14-year exile and his victory over the demon king Ravana, symbolizing the triumph of good over evil. It also honors the goddess Lakshmi, the deity of wealth and prosperity, whom devotees worship for blessings in the coming year. The lighting of lamps and candles represents the victory of light over darkness and the renewal of spiritual faith.
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