US President Donald Trump has arrived at Ahmedabad today accompanied by wife Melania Trump, daughter Ivanka, and son-in-law Jared Kushner. This marks President Trump’s maiden visit to India and could be an extremely significant visit for both the nations. In this post I will present the highlights of the Namaste Trump event at Motera and also touch upon the reasons about why this trip is critical.
Namaste Trump event at Motera
Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji received President Trump and his family members at the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport (AMD) in Ahmedabad. Thereafter, over 1 lakh people were assembled at the Motera Stadium in Ahmadabad for the ‘Namaste Trump’ event. This event commenced with PM Modi delivering a welcome speech which was accompanied by stirring chants of ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’. Modi ji noted that the fact Trumps attended the event right away after completing a very long and tiring journey bears testimony to the fact that Indo-US relations are extremely strong.
President Trump started his speech by saying “Namaste, America loves India,” which drew thunderous applause from the crowd. He then added: “I would like to begin by thanking my special friend, Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Prime Minister – the son of a tea seller in this very city – has had a remarkable rise… He is a great man. Everybody loves him, but he is a very tough negotiator.” President Trump then added: “The rise of India in the last seven decades has been remarkable… The pace at which it has grown in the last two decades is phenomenal… The people of India are an inspiration for the rest of the world.” He also observed that merely five months ago, the United States welcomed PM Modi ji to Texas at the Howdy Modi event and now India reciprocated the gesture by welcoming him at world’s largest cricket stadium at Motera.
Praising India for her peacekeeping efforts, President Trump added that “Every nation has the right to secure and control borders. The US and India have been working to stop terror and fight their ideology. My administration has been working successfully with Pakistan in fighting terror… India has a leadership role in promoting peace in the region.” Narendra Modi ji once again hugged US President Donald Trump at Motera stadium and it was a soul stirring moment with the national anthems of both the nations playing in the background.
Why is this visit so important?
It is crucial to understand what this visit holds for India. For starters, this visit has been scheduled at a time when US is India’s top trading partner. In December last year, India’s foreign and defence ministers visited Washington for the second edition of the ‘2+2 Ministerial Dialogue’ that laid the foundation for Trump’s visit to India at present. During the visit to Washington, India and US had signed the Industrial Security Annex (ISA) and three agreements under the Defense Technology and Trade Initiative for securing technology transfer and for co-production of critical technologies. It is believed that this visit by President Trump will enable the deepening of economic ties between both the nations and also provide breakthroughs about the issues of tariffs migration of Indian professionals to US. I note that President Trump announced that India and US are working on a fantastic trade deal together which will boost the economies of both the nations. Perhaps this is a teaser what is to come.
This visit will also help India emerge as a key defence partner for US. President Trump indicated that a USD 3 billion defence deal will be signed with India during his visit. He further added that: “I thank you for the contribution that you have made to my beloved country. USA’s economy is booming. I have come to India to expand our relations. PM and I will continue our dialogue to deepen the relationship between both the countries. Our relations took a new turn when the Indian and US military had a joint exercise – Tiger Triumph. We make the best military hardware and we now deal with India. We want India to become our premier defence partner.”
I think the indications given by President Trump are extremely positive and I am definitely looking forward to this new chapter in the history of India. As President Trump is extremely impressed by the Indian hospitality extended to him and his family members, I sincerely hope that the talks between him and PM Modi ji are fruitful and further strengthen the bond between India and US.
