U.S. President Jo Biden and First Lady Jill Biden reportedly received gifts from foreign leaders in 2023 including over 20,000 U.S. dollars worth diamond. Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol also delivered a gift to President Biden worth 10 million won.
According to the U.S. State Department’s annual accounting report released on January 2, 2025, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave President Biden and his wife a lavish gift package worth 27,232 U.S. dollars in total, including jewelry, paintings, craft box and sculpture during their visit to India in June 2023. One of the most notable is the 7.5-carat lab-grown diamond worth 20,000 dollars presented to Jill Biden by Prime Minister Modi. Some analyzed that the move may have aimed to increase U.S. exports of artificial diamond including lab grown of which India is a key global producer.
President Yoon's list of gifts to President Biden, presented during his April 2023 visit to the United States, was also revealed. The gifts included a moon jar, a silver kettle, a ceremonial hair ornament (jokduri), and a commemorative album. The commemorative album and silver kettle set were valued at 7,100 dollars, while the moon jar and traditional dishware among (gujeolpan) were worth 1,760 dollars. Additionally, during a 10-minute meeting between Yoon, Biden, and then-Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit in San Francisco in November 2023, Korean First Lady Kim Keon Hee gifted cosmetics and blankets to Jill Biden.
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