There is nothing more prestigious in Washington other than receiving an invitation to the state dinner to the White House. Amidst an elegant setting, guests attired in tuxedos and beautiful gowns while being served up a four-course meal by the most famous kitchen in America.
In Obama’s first six years as the President, he has held only 7 state dinners. He will be hosting two more in this year, one for or the leaders in Japan on April 28th and one for China later in the year.
The state dinner at White House is the highest diplomatic honor in the U.S reserves for allies and other countries. It is also known for being one of the most lavish affairs of the government. The White House spokesman Patrick Ventrell said that it the State Department which pays the whole check, averaging about $500,000 for each of Obama’s 7 dinners.
According to Ventrell and others, cost had been a matter of concern ever since Obama taking the office since January 2009 amid the worst economic slide since the 1930s. The officials had been concerned due to the economic distress that took over the country and were looking for other ways that the president could strengthen his relationships with foreign leaders without having to spend so much of public money on lavish dinners.
The first state dinner that Obama held was honoring the then-Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh sometime towards the end of his first year of presidency. Then he hosted dinners for Mexico, China, Germany, South Korea, Britain and France.
It is more important to maintain an overall level of engagement with foreign counterparts and the way he is interacting with them rather than throwing state dinners.
Ventrell said “State dinners are one tool of diplomacy that can be used and used effectively, and sometimes we use them.”
The list of countries and years the state dinners were held:
2009: Then-Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh
2010: Then-Mexican President Felipe Calderon
2011: Then-Chinese President Hu Jintao
2011: German Chancellor Angela Merkel
2011: Then-South Korean President Lee Myung-bak
2012: British Prime Minister David Cameron
2014: French President Francois Hollande
2015: Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, scheduled for April 28.
2015: (expected) Chinese President Xi Jinping
