Moments ahead of US President Donald Trump’s appearance in India on Monday, India PM Narendra Modi tweeted, “India anticipates your coming. See you very shortly in Ahmedabad”. PM Modi’s tweeted his reply to Trump’s post as he was traveling out of the US yesterday: Departing for India with Melania!
On his first visit to India, President Trump will arrive in Ahmedabad, the most populous city in PM Modi’s home state Gujarat. Prime Minister tweeted that Your visit is persisting to further strengthen the alliance between our nations. President Trump will arrive with First Lady Melania Trump and his family, probably before noon at the Ahmedabad airport, where they will be welcomed by PM Modi.
The US visitors will be given a grand welcome as they drive to the newly-built Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Cricket Stadium – said to be the world’s largest – where PM Modi and President Trump will headline a mega gathering billed as “Namaste, Trump.”
Before leaving Washington DC on Sunday night, President Trump said: “We will be with millions and millions. I get along very well with PM Modi… he is a friend,” he said, adding that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had told him “this (“Namaste, Trump”) will be the biggest event they have ever had”.
President Trump’s convoy will be treated to various cultural programs along the route. The roadshow will also move over a portion of the city where a four-foot-tall, 500-meter-long wall has been developed, experts say, to cover slums. Later today, the Trumps will go to Agra to view the Taj Mahal before traveling to Delhi, where the influential part of the visit takes place.
On Tuesday, PM Modi and President Trump will continue talks in which an Indo-US trade agreement is expected to be addressed. Differences between the two countries over proposed tariffs by India to protect domestic manufacturers and the US President’s sharp words complaining about New Delhi’s move have diminished chances of any major deal during this visit. India’s move occurred after the US abandoned the general system of decisions that enabled the exportation of $5.6 billion value of goods.
The government has sought restoration of trade concessions that the US withdrew in 2019 and greater access to US markets for its pharmaceutical and farm products. Officials have said Trump plans to raise the subject of religious freedom during his talks with PM Modi against the backdrop of protests across India against a citizenship law that critics say discriminates against Muslims.
