Donald Trump to visit India on Feb 24: White House

Washington, February 11

US President Donald Trump will embark on a two-day visit to India from February 24 during which he will travel to New Delhi and Ahmedabad to further strengthen the strategic bilateral partnership and highlight the strong and enduring bonds between the American and Indian people, the White House announced on Tuesday.

President Trump would be accompanied by First Lady Melania Trump and they would visit India on February 24–25, White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham said.

She said President Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi talked on the telephone over the weekend.

“During a phone call over the weekend, President Trump and Prime Minister Modi agreed the trip would further strengthen the India-US strategic partnership and highlight the strong and enduring bonds between the American and Indian people,” she said.

The President and the First Lady would travel to New Delhi and Ahmedabad, which is in Prime Minister Modi’s home state of Gujarat and played an important role in Mahatma Gandhi’s life and leadership of the Indian independence movement, the White House said.

Trump’s predecessor Barack Obama had travelled to India in 2010 and 2015.

“President Trump’s trip to India is timely in view of the bilateral trade issues that need to be resolved and in light of the collaborations between the US and India in various realms,” MR Rangaswami, Indian-American philanthropist and head of Indiaspora, told PTI.

Describing it as a significant visit, Mukesh Aghi, president of the US-India Strategic and Partnership Forum, noted that the last three American presidents had made trips to India.

The Ministry of External Affairs on Tuesday said Trump’s maiden visit to India will provide an opportunity to further strengthen the strategic partnership between the two countries.

The ministry’s comments came hours after the White House announced that the US president and First Lady Melania Trump will visit India from February 24 to 25.

India had invited Trump to grace the Republic Day parade as the chief guest last year but the US President could not come due to scheduling issues.

During his visit to the US in September last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had reminded Trump of his invitation to him to visit India along with his family.

“The visit will provide an opportunity for the two leaders to review progress in bilateral ties and further strengthen our strategic partnership,” the MEA said.

It said Trump and the First Lady will attend official engagements in the national capital and Ahmedabad, and interact with a cross-section of Indian society.

The main outcome of Trump’s visit is likely to be finalisation of a trade deal.

The MEA said the global strategic partnership between India and the US is based on “trust, shared values, mutual respect and understanding”, and marked by warmth and friendship between the peoples of the two countries.

“The relationship has further evolved under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi and President Trump, with significant progress in all areas, including trade, defence, counter-terrorism, energy, coordination on regional and global issues as well as people-to-people ties,” the MEA said. —PTI

 PTI