NE NEWS SERVICE
AHMEDABAD, FEB 23
Ahmedabad has been decked up to the hilt to host US President Donald Trump and the first Lady Melania Trump and a 12-member delegation, including the president’s daughter Ivanka Trump and son-in-law Jared Kushner, on Monday. But uncertainty looms on whether Trump would visit the Sabarmati Ashram after attending the grand ‘Namaste, Trump, event at the Motera Stadium with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
After much flip-flop, Sabarmati Ashram is back on US President Donald Trump’s itinerary in Ahmedabad. Sources say the road show to be held by Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi has again been shortened to 22 km.
Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to greet Trump in Ahmedabad for a road show leading to the ‘Namaste, Trump’ rally at the huge stadium which has a capacity to accommodate 110,000 spectators. After his mega rally and road show in Ahmedabad and a stopover in Agra to see the Taj Mahal on February 24, Trump will hold official meetings with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi the next day. After Barack Obama, Trump is the only other US President to visit India in his first term.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has welcomed US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania on the eve of their visit. “It is an honour that he will be with us tomorrow, starting with the historic programme in Ahmedabad!” he tweeted
India looks forward to welcoming @POTUS @realDonaldTrump.
It is an honour that he will be with us tomorrow, starting with the historic programme in Ahmedabad! https://t.co/fAVx9OUu1j
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) February 23, 2020
Trade ties between US and India
Trade ties between the United States and India have long been problematic but under ‘America First’ President Donald Trump and ‘Make in India’ Prime Minister Narendra Modi, they have worsened. While eclipsed by his trade war with China, Trump’s tussle with India, and New Delhi’s prickly reaction, has made a major pact unlikely during the American president’s visit to the world’s fifth-largest economy from Monday. “They’ve been hitting us very, very hard for many, many years,” Trump said of India ahead of the 36-hour trip to Ahmedabad, Agra and New Delhi accompanied by Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and others.
