Trump’s 36 hours maiden visit concludes with major deals and future promises
Donald J. Trump, President of the United States of America arrived in Ahmedabad as his state visit to India on February 24, 2020. He was accompanied by the first lady Melania Trump, his daughter and senior advisor Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner. They were received by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Ahmedabad airport. Both the leaders headed to the Motera stadium in Ahmedabad where Trump addressed the crowd during the ‘Namaste Trump’ event. The congregation was attended by approximately 1.3 lakh people including top government officials, diplomats and security agencies.
In his speech, Trump emphasised on fighting against radical Islam and terrorism along with India. He then announced a joint venture of counter-terrorism centre under the supervision of Homeland Security and national security services in India. He also congratulated India for Chandrayan II and spoke about the joint endeavours between US and India in space exploration. The delegation also announced the signing of a $3 billion defence and security equipment deals between both the nations.
After concluding the meet, the entire entourage flew to Agra to visit the iconic Taj Mahal where they were received by the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, Yogi Adityanath. Both the president and the first lady signed the visitor book praising the beauty of the monument and the significance it brings to the ‘rich and diverse beauty of the Indian culture’.
On February 25, the two nations have signed 3 MoUs including one for the energy sector at the Hyderabad House in the capital as part of the US-India bilateral talks. The two leaders also discussed 5G telecom technology intensively. Both the delegations have planned ‘iconic’ trade deals between the two countries to reinforce and strengthen the economic ties between the nations. Talks about the geopolitical expansion of China and trade and investments are also on the cards. Apart from that, the two nations are ready to sign defence deals where US provides India with state of the art helicopters and defence equipment worth $3 billion. Trump has emphasised on the Indo-Pacific security and believes that this deal would be win-win for both the nations.
President Trump is ‘optimistic of the new trade deal’ while Prime Minister Modi believes that this partnership transcends governments and bureaucracy and is more ‘people centric’.
