San Francisco, September 27

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will not only speak to Silicon Valley’s biggest executives during his two-day visit to the US tech hub but will also take questions from some of Facebook Inc’s 1.5 billion users at a town hall today.

Modi, 65, is the first Indian leader to visit the US West Coast in more than 30 years. His trip follows a similar visit by China’s president, Xi Jinping, who met several tech leaders in Seattle last week.

The Indian prime minister continues his Silicon Valley tour today with visits to Facebook and Google Inc headquarters before an event at the San Jose Convention Centre that 18,000 people are expected to attend.

Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg announced Modi’s visit on his Facebook page earlier this month and invited users to post questions. More than 37,000 comments were made in reply, with questions ranging from those about internet expansion in India, unemployment rates and calls for Modi to address his human rights record.

Modi is eager to bring bigger technology investments and jobs back to India to help its growing start-up scene. He has also sought to encourage some Indians who have thrived around Silicon Valley to bring their knowledge back home.