Trump to begin India visit on Feb 24, focus on trade deal
WASHINGTON/NEW DELHI : US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump will visit India during February 24-25, with a limited trade package and a public event featuring Prime Minister Narendra Modi expected to be highlights of the trip.
Trump’s maiden visit to India will take him to New Delhi and Ahmedabad, with the two sides saying the trip will strengthen the strategic partnership and provide an opportunity for the leaders to review progress in bilateral ties.
Though there were reports of the proposed visit, the final details were apparently wrapped up during a phone call between Modi and Trump that the White House said occurred over the weekend. The trip was first announced by the White House on Twitter early on Tuesday and this was followed by statements from both sides.
People familiar with developments said the two sides are finalising a limited trade package centred round enhanced market access for American medical devices and agricultural products that is expected to be unveiled during the visit. India expects reinstatement of benefits under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) scheme, withdrawn last June, as part of the package, they said.
The Indian government is expected to host a public reception in Ahmedabad on the lines of the “Howdy Modi!” show in Houston last September that was addressed by Modi and Trump, the people said.
Though both sides didn’t give details of Trump’s itinerary, people familiar with the planning of the trip said he is expected to start the visit in Ahmedabad on February 24 and reach New Delhi the same night for the second leg.
Both sides are fine tuning different aspects of the visit and the people cited above said details will be hard to come by for security reasons. Advance teams from the US are also on the ground.
The visit, first reported by HT in January, will cap efforts that started with India inviting Trump to attend the 2018 Republic Day parade as chief guest. The White House had then begged off, citing scheduling issues.
Trump and Melania will “travel to New Delhi and Ahmedabad, which is in PM Modi’s home state and played such an important role in Mahatma Gandhi’s life and leadership of the Indian independence movement”, the White House statement said.
During their recent phone call, Trump and Modi “agreed the trip will further strengthen the Us-india strategic partnership and highlight the strong and enduring bonds between the American and Indian people”, it added.
The external affairs ministry said in a statement the visit “will provide an opportunity for the two leaders to review progress in bilateral ties and further strengthen our strategic partnership”.
The India-us strategic partnership is “based on trust, shared values, mutual respect and understanding” and ties have further evolved under the leadership of Modi and Trump, with significant progress in areas such as trade, defence, counter-terror, energy, coordination on regional and global issues and people-topeople ties, the statement added.
Reacting to the announcement, Us-india Strategic and Partnership Forum head Mukesh Aghi told PTI, “It’s essential to send a message to the region that India is a significant partner and the president values that.”