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> Modi calls US president a ‘special friend’ of India > Trump hails ‘exceptional’ Modi at huge India rally
US President Donald Trump got a rapturous and romantic welcome to India on Monday, addressing a huge rally and holding hands with his wife at the Taj Mahal, in a maiden official visit big on photo opportunities but short on concrete results.
In the world’s biggest cricket stadium in Modi’s home state of Gujarat in western India, Trump heaped praise on the Indian right-winger as an “exceptional leader, a great champion of India” in front of a crowd of around 100,000.
“America loves India. America respects India, and America will always be faithful and loyal friends to the Indian people,” Trump told the ecstatic crowd, many in Trump-emblazoned baseball caps.
Name-checking Bollywood films and Indian cricketers, Trump — with an eye on elections in November — paid tribute to the fourmillion-strong Indian-American diaspora as “truly special people”.
“President Trump’s visit opens a new chapter in our relationship — a chapter that will document the progress and prosperity of the people of America and India,” Modi said.
“The whole world knows what President Trump has done to fulfil the dreams of America.”
Excited spectators had queued from 4am for the Namaste Trump rally, reciprocating a Howdy Modi event in Houston last year where Trump likened Modi to Elvis.
Workers rushed to finish the stadium and erect a wall along the route that locals said was to hide a slum. Stray dogs, cows and monkeys were also kept away.
“Events like these will galvanise people to start to cooperate in new initiatives,” said Pramit Maakoday, an Indian-American in the stadium.
Before the speech, Trump and First Lady Melania visited independence hero Mahatma Gandhi’s ashram, where Modi gifted him a “see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil” three wise monkeys statue.
Later Trump and Melania — in an off-white jump suit and sash alongside her husband in a buttercup-yellow tie — flew to the Taj Mahal for a pre-sunset tour before heading to Delhi ahead of the main talks on Tuesday.
Parts of the Taj Mahal, the marble monument to love that Unesco calls a “jewel of Muslim art”, were given a mud-pack facial
There’s a lot that Trump and Modi share in common, and not surprisingly these convergences have translated into a warm chemistry between the two
Michael Kugelman of the Washington-based Wilson Center
to remove stains, while efforts were made to lessen the stench of the adjacent river.
Behind the platitudes and blossoming bromance between the two leaders lies a fraught relationship as Trump’s “America First” drive collides with Modi’s “Make in India” mantra.
Trump has slapped tariffs on Indian steel and aluminium and suspended duty-free access for certain goods, prompting India to raise duties on US produce such as almonds.
Trump has called India the “tariff king”, and said before his visit that Asia’s third-largest economy had been “hitting us very, very hard for many, many years”.
There are many qualities that Trump and Modi share — a love for political grandstanding and an unshakable conviction that they can achieve the best solutions or deals
Rakesh Sood former Indian diplomat
Rather than a wide-ranging trade deal, reports said Trump and Modi may instead sign smaller agreements covering products such as Harley-Davidson motorcycles and US dairy products.
“We are in the early stages of discussions for an incredible trade agreement,” Trump told the rally, calling Modi a “very tough negotiator”.
“I am in no rush,” he told reporters later. With the US and India sharing concerns about China, the two men were expected to sign a number of defence deals during the visit, and to discuss the supply of six nuclear reactors. —
narendra modi Narendra Modi hailed Donald Trump’s visit to India as a new chapter in the historic Indo-US relations. “India and the US relations and cooperation will play an important role in deciding the course of world in the 21st century. What you (Trump) have done for healthy and happy America is getting good results. What you are doing for children in society is admirable.”