House Speaker invites India Prime Minister to address Congress

Jan. 25, 2015: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi waves during a reception for President Obama in New Delhi. (The Associated Press)

House Speaker Paul Ryan says he has invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India to address a joint meeting of Congress on June 8.

Ryan told reporters at his weekly news conference about the invitation for the first joint meeting since he became speaker last fall.

Ryan said the friendship between the U.S. and India is a "pillar of stability" in a critical region of the world.

Modi would be the fifth prime minister of India to address a joint meeting of Congress, and the first since 2005.

The speaker's office says the tradition of foreign leaders addressing Congress dates to Dec. 10, 1824, when Marquis de Lafayette of France spoke in the House chamber.