When Omar Abdullah breaks bread with US president Barack Obama during the National Prayers Breakfast (NPB) in Washington, it will be a meeting of two dynamic, young leaders at forum specifically designed to make such meetings happen.
The National Prayers Breakfast is a yearly event organised on the behalf of the US Congress and Senate by the Fellowship Foundation. A total of 3,500 guests, including international invitees from more than 100 countries, participate in the breakfast. The National Prayer Breakfast has been organised since 1953 in Washington, usually on the first Thursday in February.
The formal invitation to attend this year’s NPB was given to Omar by MP and former India cricket captain Mohammad Azharuddin. He called on the chief minister in Jammu on Thursday. “I have received the invite, but I am yet to decide about going. It is a prestigious event and people from all over the world will participate. I will have to see whether my schedule permits me to visit the US,” the chief minister told DNA.
NPB is designed to bring political, social and business leaders of the world on one platform and build relationships. At the 2008 edition of the meet, six heads of the state, members of European Parliament, UN diplomats, politicians from Europe, Asia, Africa and Latin America met business leaders and students. There is a guest speaker at the event, but that person’s name is not made public till the day of the event.
I think the invite has to do with US reaching out to the moderate Muslims across the globe. Mohammad Azharuddin too, is invited. I think the US wants to understand how we think,” said the J&K chief minister.
