Donald Trump may visit India from Feb 21 to 24, trade in focus

US President Donald Trump is set to visit India between February 21 and February 24, with a day devoted to a joint public function with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, possibly in Ahmedabad although the final programme is yet to be sealed, according to people familiar with the matter said.

Officials with direct knowledge of the arrangements told sources that the US government has booked Delhi’s ITC Maurya Hotel for the forthcoming presidential visit from Feb 21-24, including the hotel’s presidential suite.

The visit comes at a time when Pakistan is boosting up its efforts to attack India at the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) session in Geneva from February 24 to March 30.

At the session, Pakistan is expected to go beyond the nullification of Article 370, and add the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, a proposed all-India National Register of Citizens, and the National Population Register 2020.

Besides exchanging political notes on the global issues, India, the US and the ASEAN countries are looking to enforcing the freedom of navigation in the South China Sea as well as the Indo-Pacific.

The government officials said President Trump is also expected to share his vision on Afghanistan. Though it is unlikely that there will be any new military hardware deal during the Trump visit, India is expected to buy Apache attack helicopters, multi-purpose helicopters for the Indian Navy, and P8I multi-mission aircraft from American defence contractors. The acquisition of Predator B armed drones from the US is also on to do list things.