New Delhi | Jagran News Desk: From inaugurating the world’s largest stadium in Ahmedabad to a trip to Sabarmati Ashram and iconic Taj Mahal in Agra, US President Donald Trump is all set to be welcomed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his first state visit to India on February 24-25.
Donald Trump will arrive in Gujarat’s Ahmedabad -- PM Modi’s home state -- on February 24 along with US first lady Melania Trump and is expected to begin their tour by visiting Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad. In a statement, White House even mentioned the reason behind his visit to Sabarmati Ashram and said, “It played an important role in Mahatma Gandhi’s life and leadership of the Indian independence movement.”
After Sabarmati Ashram, Trump will attend ‘Namastey Trump’ event and will inaugurate Motera’s Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Stadium, which is termed as the largest stadium in the world with a capacity of over 1 lakh people. He will also jointly address the crowd gathered there which will mostly comprise Gujarati diaspora and those having families in the US, along with PM Modi, just like the Howdy! Modi event in Houston last year.
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“It will be similar to the landmark ‘Howdy, Modi!’ event hosted by the Indian-American community in honour of Prime Minister Modi during his visit to Houston in September 2019, in which President Trump participated,” Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said on Wednesday, as reported by news agency ANI.
On the second day of his trip February 25, Trump along with Melania is expected to visit the Taj Mahal in Agra where they will be spending an hour at the iconic monument. Preparations of which have been going on full swing.
After departing from Agra, Donald Trump will visit the national capital, where Trump and first lady Melania, would be accorded a ceremonial welcome at the forecourt of Rashtrapati Bhavan. After the ceremonial welcome, the Trumps will be visiting Rajghat, where they will pay homage to Mahatma Gandhi.
The homage will be followed by restricted and delegation-level talks between Trump and Modi at Hyderabad House, where the two leaders are expected to wrap up issues related to trade and defence deals with India.
“The talks will be comprehensive and cover issues relating to our strategic partnership in areas of defence, security, counter-terrorism, as well as trade, energy, people-to-people exchanges and other bilateral matters,” Shringla further said.
Meanwhile Trump and PM Modi’s delegation-level talks, Melania Trump will likely visit a Delhi government school to watch the ‘happiness class’.
After holding talks with PM Modi, Trump will attend several private events at the US Embassy, including a private roundtable with industry representatives. Followed by a meet with President Ramnath Kovind in the evening. President Trump would depart from India later that evening.
“President Trump’s visit will be brief but intense, with all essential elements of a State visit, and two additional legs in Ahmedabad and Agra, all squeezed into less than 36 hours,” Shringla added.