Delhi: Donald Trump will become the seventh U.S. President to visit India after he arrives in New Delhi on February 24. His maiden visit comes exactly five years after former U.S. President Barack Obama took part in the 2015 Republic Day parade as the chief guest.
President Trump will arrive in India at the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in Ahmedabad where he will be received by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. From the airport, the two leaders will hold a 22-kilometre roadshow, with people lined up in the streets of Ahmedabad to welcome the US President.
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According to the reports, the government of Gujarat has incurred an expense of Rs 80 crores to welcome the U.S. President.
At around 12:30 pm, the leaders will arrive at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Stadium, also known as Motera Stadium, which is the world's largest cricket stadium. There the US President will speak at "Namaste Trump" event with close to 1.25 lakh people in attendance. This would be Trump's big political activity in India to garner support from Indian Americans back home as he heads the presidential race in November.
The opposition parties, on the other hand, have asked the government, if Trump's visit carries any bilateral significance or is it just an attempt from his side to woo three million Indian diaspora who would be contributing their votes in the upcoming presidential election.
President Trump exhibited doubts over the mega trade deal which both sides have been working on since last year. India and the US have been trying to finalise a trade deal which might not materialise during Trump's visit as he clearly mentioned that he will be saving the mega trade deal for some other time.
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But international trade expert Manoj Pant claimed it to be not surprising as the deal which both countries aspire to attain will certainly take a longer time.
Professor at the prestigious Jawahar Lal University Chintamani Mahapatra asserted that Trump will leave no stones unturned to woo Indians because he surely doesn't want to lose the election.
