Ahmedabad, Feb. 24:
The U.S. and India are committed to working together to stop terrorists and fight their radical ideology, visiting U.S. President Donald Trump said here on Monday. Describing America’s relations with Pakistan as “good’, Mr Trump said that since taking office his administration is working in a very positive way with Pakistan to crack down on terror organisations and militants that operate on the Pakistani border. He was speaking at the “Namaste Trump’ event, organised at the newly constructed cricket stadium, the world’s largest, in Motera here. This is the first stand alone visit to India by a U.S. President. Our relationship with Pakistan is a very good one. Thanks to these efforts we are beginning to see signs of big progress with Pakistan and we are hopeful for reduced tensions, greater stability and the future of harmony for all of the nations of South Asia,’ he said. Trump said that both the countries are united in defending citizens from threat of radical Islamic terrorism. “Under my administration, we unleashed full power of American military on blood thirsty killers of ISIS. Today ISIS territorial caliphate is 100% destroyed. Monster Al Baghdadi is dead,’ he said. He also announced finalisation of U.S. $ 3 billion deals to give finest state of the
US-India
art military helicopters and other equipment to the Indian armed forces. “As we continue to build our defence cooperation, the US looks forward to providing India with some of the best and most feared military equipment on the planet. We make the greatest weapons ever made. We make the best and we are dealing now with India,’ he said. In his half-an-hour address at the packed stadium with nearly 1.25 lakh people, the U.S. President, on his first official visit to India, touched upon a number of themes that deepen India-US relations and made references to Swami Vivekanand, Mahatma Gandhi, Sardar Patel, Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli and even Bollywood as he referred to DDLJ and Sholay. The crowd constantly joyously cheered Mr Trump as he punctuated his address with achievements which India has made in the recent years. Reiterating his government’s resolve to boost cooperation in a number of areas including space exploration, trade, rural development, digital access, the U.S. President said that India bosts of biggest middle class and stressed on India’s potential to rise and make its people more prosperous. He noted that government efforts would spur India to eliminate poverty completely in the next decade. Hailing Prime Minister Modi’s leadership as “exceptional’, the U.S. President paid glowing tributes to Mr Modi’s “hard work and devotion.’ Noting Mr. Modi’s humble origins, he said: “PM Modi started out as `tea wallah’ and worked as a tea-seller. Everybody loves him but I will tell you this, he is very tough.’ Turning to the Prime Minister on stage, he described him as a great champion of Indian people. Mr. Trump said :“PM Modi you are not just the pride of Gujarat, you are living proof that with hard work and devotion, Indians can accomplish anything at all, anything they want. The Prime Minister is a moving story of an incredible rise. We will always remember this remarkable hospitality. India will hold a special place in our hearts.’
To the lustily cheering crowds, the U.S. President declared “America loves India, America respects India and America will always be a faithful and loyal friend to the Indian people.’
He also paid rich tributes to India’s rich diversity, large and vibrant democracy and unity which was an inspiration for the entire world.
Seated among dignitaries in the front row in the stadium were members of Mr. Trump’s family — daughter Ivanka, son-in-law Jared Kushner and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval.India rolls out cultural extravaganza to welcome Trump
Ahmedabad, Feb 24 (PTI) US President Donald Trump landed here on Monday for his first visit to India to a grand welcome by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and thousands of people who lined the streets and packed into the Motera stadium to say “Namaste Trump”.
There were tableaux, folk dancers and musicians rolling out the cultural tapestry that is India, at the airport, on the way and at the spanking new cricket stadium where about 100,000 people waited patiently since early in the morning to hear the two leaders speak.
Air Force One carrying Trump, his wife Melania, daughter Ivanka and son-in-law Jared Kushner landed at the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel international airport here at 11.37 am, officials said. It was scheduled to land at 11.40 am.
Trump stepped out wearing a black suit and a buttercup yellow tie while the first lady was in a white jumpsuit by French-American costume designer Herve Pierre. In a hat tip to Indian textiles, the jumpsuit was paired with a green silk with gold thread embroidery discovered by the designer in an early 20th century Indian textile documents given to him by his friends.
Modi, who reached Ahmedabad about an hour before Trump did, welcomed Trump and the US first lady at the airport, hugging the president and warmly shaking hands with Melania.
The first stop in the Trump visit was the Sabarmati Ashram, home to Mahatma Gandhi between 1917 and 1930 during India’s freedom struggle.
The 22-km ‘India roadshow’ began as the cavalcade, with the US president’s gleaming black car that has earned the moniker ‘The Beast’, moved out of the airport towards the Ashram and then to stadium. About 50 stages were set up on the way, showcasing dance groups and singers from different parts of the country.
Over 10,000 police personnel, besides officials of the United States Secret Service, and personnel of the National Security Guards (NSG) and the Special Protection Group (SPG) were deployed for the high profile visit.
From colour and pageantry to quieter and reflective, the mood shifted somewhat at the Sabarmati Ashram where the US president and the first lady spent about 15 minutes.
Modi, who reached the Ashram a few minutes before the visiting dignitaries, showed the Trumps ‘Hriday Kunj’, a room inside the Ashram where Gandhi and his wife Kasturba lived.
Modi explained the importance of the place in India’s freedom struggle.
Trump and Melania tried their hands on the khadi spinning wheel, also known as the ‘charkha’.
“To my great friend Prime Minister Modi – Thank you for this wonderful visit,” Trump wrote in the visitors book. It was also signed by Melania.
Modi presented the “Three Wise Monkeys”, signifying Gandhi’s three maxims of ‘see no evil’, ‘hear no evil’ and ‘speak no evil’, as a memento to the US president.
After the Ashram, Trump and Modi resumed their roadshow till Motera stadium, the stage for the “Namaste Trump” event that saw a cultural extravaganza and addresses by the two leaders.
The stadium was packed to the rafters, a sea of colour and white with many in the crowd wearing white caps.
Billboards with slogans hailing Indo-US relations and giant cutouts of Trump and Modi as well as photographs of the two leaders waving at the crowd during the ‘Howdy Modi’ event in Houston last year. Also put up along the road were replicas of historic places in Gujarat.
The seventh US president to visit India, Trump on Sunday retweeted a video in which his face was superimposed on the hit Indian movie-character “Baahubali”, showing him as a great saviour.
Commenting on the Trump visit, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Raveesh Kumar tweeted that this is the first stand-alone visit by a US president to India, exemplifying a historic relationship that has matured into a 21-century global partnership.
The bonhomie, so much in evidence during the day, began from the air itself.
“We are eager to visit India. We are on our way and will soon be meeting all,” Trump tweeted in Hindi from on board the special Air Force One aircraft.
Modi replied shortly after, saying “Atithi Devo Bhava”, or “the guest is god”.
From Ahmedabad, the first stop on their 36-hour India visit, the Trumps will travel to Agra and then on to New Delhi on Monday evening.
