US First Lady Jill Biden received a 7.5-carat green lab-grown eco-friendly diamond worth $20,000 from the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his state visit in 2023, including other gits. The diamond gifted to Jill reflects the "chemical and optical properties of earth-mined diamonds" and was kept in a box that was made of paper pulp. The paper pulp is known as kar-e-kalamdani.
A report by the Office of the Chief of Protocol of the United States revealed that the Ukrainian ambassador to the US gifted a brooch worth $14,063. The First Lady further received a bracelet, brooch, and a photograph album worth $4,510 from the President and First Lady of Egypt.
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The declaration came because as per US law, officials from the executive branch, including the president, have to declare gifts they receive from foreign leaders that are worth more than $480.
As per a State Department document, the $20,000 diamond was retained for official use in the White House East Wing. The other gifts given to the US president and the First Lady were sent to the archives.
PM Modi gifted the diamond in 223 when he visited the US and was hosted by the outgoing US President Joe Biden and his wife. Modi gifted a handcrafted sandalwood box to Bidens as an official gift. The box contained a silver idol of Lord Ganesha, a diya (oil lamp) and 'Das Danam'. Modi also gifted a copy of the first edition print of the book 'The Ten Principal Upanishads'.
In return gift, Biden gifted an antique American book galley to Modi. The couple further gave a vintage American camera, a hardcover book of American wildlife photography and a signed, first-edition copy of 'Collected Poems of Robert Frost to the Indian PM.
(With inputs from agencies)