Tag: Trump India visit

‘POTUS & I are excited for the trip’: Melania Trump tweets ahead of India visit

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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First Lady of the United States Melania Trump has exuded enthusiasm over her impending India visit with US President Donald Trump later this month. Melania took to Twitter to say that the visit will celebrate close ties between the United States and India.

The American first family is scheduled to visit India on February 24 and 25. This will be their first trip to the country in an official capacity.

Melania was responding to a tweet by Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressing his delight at the prospect of hosting the duo in Ahmedabad and Delhi.

Modi tweeted: “Extremely delighted that @POTUS @realDonaldTrump and @FLOTUS will visit India on 24th and 25th February. India will accord a memorable welcome to our esteemed guests. This visit is a very special one and it will go a long way in further cementing India-USA friendship.”

Commenting on Modi’s tweet, Melania wrote: “Thank you @narendramodi for the kind invitation. Looking forward to visiting Ahmedabad & New Dehli [sic] later this month. @POTUS & I are excited for the trip & to celebrate the close ties between the #USA & #India.”

Thank you @narendramodi for the kind invitation. Looking forward to visiting Ahmedabad & New Dehli later this month. @POTUS & I are excited for the trip & to celebrate the close ties between the #USA & #India. https://t.co/49LzQPiVLf

— Melania Trump (@FLOTUS) February 12, 2020

Ahmedabad is currently getting a facelift ahead of the American dignitaries’ visit.

Trump and Modi will address an event at Ahmedabad’s Motera Stadium, which has a capacity in excess of 100,000. The event has been titled “Kem Chho Trump!”, which translates to “Trump, how are you”.

The title is a direct reference to the “Howdy, Modi!” event the duo addressed at the NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas during Modi’s visit last year. Howdy is a common greeting in Texas.

A fan of addressing big, fawning crowds, Trump earlier this week expressed his delight at the prospect of addressing “millions” during the Ahmedabad leg of the trip.

“He [Modi] said we will have millions and millions of people. My only problem is that last night we probably had 40 or 50,000 people… I’m not going to feel so good… There will be five to seven million people just from the airport to the new stadium,” Trump told reporters .

“And you know [it] is the largest stadium in the world. He’s [Modi] building it now. It’s almost complete and it’s the largest in the world,” he added.

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‘Kem Chho, Trump!’ event in Ahmedabad: Here is all we know so far

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Ahmedabad has started preparing for a grand show for the upcoming visit of US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump in the last week of February. The White House on February 11 announced President Trump in a phone call with Prime Minister Narendra Modi agreed to visit India to strengthen the partnership between the two countries.

In his first official visit to India, Trump will travel to Ahmedabad and New Delhi on February 24 and 25.

Gujarat government officials are tight-lipped on the possible itinerary of the US President during the Ahmedabad visit. Chief Minister Vijay Rupani had recently said in Delhi that Trump will visit the Sabarmati River Front during his visit to India, reported PTI.

During his Ahmedabad visit, the US president will hold a public rally with Modi at the Sardar Patel Stadium (known as Motera Stadium) in Ahmedabad. The rally is expected to see a massive gathering, reportedly larger than ‘Howdy Modi’ event in the US last year.

The Motera stadium, being built at an estimated cost of $100 million, has a seating capacity of over 1,00,000 spectators. The stadium will become the world’s largest cricket stadium overtaking the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Australia.

In view of the upcoming visit of US President Donald Trump to Ahmedabad, the Gujarat government on Tuesday announced that it was rescheduling tabling of the Budget 2020-21 in the Legislative Assembly to February 26. As per the previous schedule, the budget was scheduled to be tabled in the House on February 24.

Extremely delighted that @POTUS @realDonaldTrump and @FLOTUS will visit India on 24th and 25th February. India will accord a memorable welcome to our esteemed guests.

This visit is a very special one and it will go a long way in further cementing India-USA friendship.

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) February 12, 2020

The two leaders addressed a big rally in Houston, Texas, at the Howdy Modi event in September 2019, which saw a strong 50,000 audience.

The Motera stadium event is also expected to be on the lines of ‘Howdy Modi’. The Indian Express reported that the event is likely to be called ‘Kem Chho Mr President’ (‘kem chho’ being howdy’s equivalent in Gujarati).

President Trump had also mentioned the planned rally during his media briefing on Tuesday in the US.

“He (Modi) said we will have millions and millions of people. My only problem is that last night we probably had 40 or 50,000 people… I’m not going to feel so good… There will be five to seven million people just from the airport to the new stadium (in Ahmedabad),” Trump told reporters.

“And you know (it) is the largest stadium in the world. He’s (Modi) building it now. It’s almost complete and it’s the largest in the world,” Trump said.

In a Twitter post today, Modi said, “India and USA share a common commitment to democracy and pluralism. Our nations are cooperating extensively on a wide range of issues. Robust friendship between our nations augurs well not only for our citizens but also for the entire world.”

Trump also said that he would sign a trade deal with Modi if it was the right one. They (Indians) want to do something and we’ll see… if we can make the right deal, (we) will do it,” said Trump.

Indian government is set to give final approval to a $2.6 billion deal for military helicopters from US defence firm Lockheed Martin ahead of Trump’s visit, Reuters reported, citing defence and industry sources.

(With inputs from PTI)

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Narendra Modi, Donald Trump to address massive rally at Ahmedabad stadium

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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US President Donald Trump has said that he is looking forward to his first visit to India later this month and indicated that the two countries may sign a trade deal. At the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Trump is slated to travel to India on February 24 and 25.

In addition to New Delhi, he will stop in Ahmedabad in Gujarat to address a joint public meeting with Modi at a stadium. “He (Modi) is a great gentleman and I look forward to going to India. So, we’ll be going at the end of the month,” Trump told reporters in his Oval Office, a day after the White House announced dates of his anticipated India trip.

Responding to a question, the president indicated that he is willing to sign a trade deal with India if it is the right one.”They (Indians) want to do something and we’ll see… if we can make the right deal, (we) will do it,” said Trump, a fortnight ahead of his visit to the country as the 45th US president.

India’s new Ambassador to the US, Taranjit Singh Sandhu told PTI that Trump’s forthcoming visit is a “reflection of the strong personal rapport” between Trump and Modi.

“It also demonstrates their strong desire to take the relationship to new heights,” said Sandhu, who had presented his credentials to Trump in Oval Office last week.

Over the last three years, Trump and Modi have developed a personal friendship and in 2019, the duo met four times including their joint address before a strong 50,000 crowd of Indian-Americans in Houston.

This year, they have spoken over the phone on two occasions, including the one over the weekend.”Just spoke with Prime Minister Modi,” Trump told reporters on Tuesday in response to a question on his India visit.

Excited to travel to India later this month, said Trump referring to his conversation with Modi during which the prime minister apparently told him about the hundreds and thousands of Indians who would be there to welcome him in Ahmedabad.

Trump jokingly told reporters that now he will “not feel good” about the size of the crowd that he addresses in the US which is usually between 40,000 to 50,000.

“He (Modi) said we will have millions and millions of people. My only problem is that last night we probably had 40 or 50,000 people… I’m not going to feel so good… There will be five to seven million people just from the airport to the new stadium (in Ahmedabad),” Trump said.

“And you know (it) is the largest stadium in the world. He’s (Modi) building it now. It’s almost complete and it’s the largest in the world,” Trump said.

The two leaders are expected to joint address a massive public rally at the newly build Motera Stadium in Ahmedabad.

Being built at an estimated cost of $100 million, the Motera Stadium with a seating capacity of 100,000 spectators will be the world’s largest cricket stadium overtaking the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Australia.

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KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

A mini trade deal likely during US President Donald Trump’s February visit

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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US President Donald Trump is likely to visit India between the 24th to 26th of February. The highlight of this visit could be a mini trade deal that India and the US have been negotiating for several months now.

The schedule and list of deliverables were discussed during the visit of senior US diplomats Alice Wells, Matthew Pottinger and Lisa Curtis to India last week. The exact duration of the visit is also being worked out.

Trump would receive a ceremonial welcome at the Rashtrapati Bhawan and this would be followed by bilateral and delegation-level talks between the two sides.

A source involved with the planning of the visit said that efforts are being made to ensure that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Trump spend the maximum amount of time together. Therefore, Indian officials want Prime Minister Modi and President Trump to be seen together in at least two or three cities.

One can expect a Howdy Modi style reception for President Trump during his India visit. The two sides are yet to iron out differences with regard to the venue for community reception.

While the Indian government wants to host President Trump in Ahmedabad, the US government wants the event to be held in Delhi itself.

Indian officials have tried to convey that it would be difficult to organise huge crowds in Delhi, while the same can be easily done in Ahmedabad. At this point, the US government’s protocol teams want to limit all events to Delhi and nearby areas due to a lack of time.

Prime Minister Modi had invited President Trump to visit India when the two first met in Washington DC in June 2017. Trump and Modi have had three bilateral meetings in 2019.

The two participated in the India-Japan-US trilateral meeting in Osaka on the sidelines of the G20. The Howdy Modi event in Houston in September 2019 was a high point in the Indo-US relationship.

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KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow