Five to 7 million people from airport to stadium would welcome Trump for his maiden trip to India

US President
Donald Trump has said he is looking forward to his first visit to India this
month and signalled his willingness to sign a trade agreement with New Delhi
“if we can make the right deal.”

Trump will
pay a state visit to India on 24 and 25 February at the invitation of Prime
Minister Narendra Modi, who on Wednesday said the US President’s visit will be
a “very special one” and it will go a long way in further cementing
India-USA friendship.

“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 on
Tuesday, a day after the White House announced dates of his much-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.

The two
countries are negotiating a trade package to iron out differences and promote
two-way commerce.

In New
Delhi, an official said India and the US were engaged in hectic parleys for a
proposed trade deal between the countries ahead of the visit of President
Trump.

However, the
official said that as of now there is no clarity if the trade pact will be signed
during Trump’s visit.

India is
demanding exemption from high duties imposed by the US on certain steel and
aluminium products, resumption of export benefits to certain domestic products
under their Generalised System of Preferences (GSP), greater market access for
its products from sectors including agriculture, automobile, auto components
and engineering.

On the other
hand, the US wants greater market access for its farm and manufacturing
products, dairy items and medical devices, and cut on import duties on some ICT
products. The US has also raised concerns over high trade deficit with India
which was USD 16.9 billion in 2018-19.

Prime
Minister Modi in his tweet, also noted that India and the US share a common
commitment to democracy and pluralism.

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

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

This year,
the two leaders have spoken over the phone on two occasions, including the one
over the last weekend.

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, the
capital of Gujarat.

The two
leaders are expected to jointly address a massive public rally at the
newly-built Motera Stadium in Ahmedabad.

Being built
at an estimated cost of USD 100 million, the Motera Stadium with a seating
capacity of 1,10,000 spectators will be the world’s largest cricket stadium
overtaking the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Australia which can hold 1,00,024
people.