Trump to visit India on Feb 24-25: White House

President
Donald Trump will travel to India later this month on a two-day visit, the
White House announced on Tuesday, in what would be his first trip to the
country as the president of the United States.

The
president and First Lady Melania Trump will travel to New Delhi and Ahmedabad
during the visit from February 24-25, White House Press Secretary Stephanie
Grisham said.

His
predecessor, Barack Obama, had travelled to India twice, in 2010 and 2015.

During a
phone call over the weekend, Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi agreed the
trip would further strengthen the India-US strategic partnership and highlight
the strong and enduring bonds between the American and Indian people, she said.

“President
Trump’s trip to India is timely in view of the bilateral trade issues that need
to be resolved and in light of the collaborations between the US and India in
various realms,” M.R. Rangaswami, Indian-American philanthropist and head
of Indiaspora, told sources.

Describing
this as a significant visit, Mukesh Aghi, president of the US-India Strategic
and Partnership Forum, noted that last three American presidents had made trips
to India.

According to
him, India has a role to play not only in its immediate neighbourhood, but in
making sure that the South China Sea and the Indo-Pacific region is part of the
international global order.