TRUMP IN INDIA

U. S. President Trump's visit in India 

U. S. President Donald Trump to visit India from Feb. 24-25


Mr. Trump and the First Lady Melania Trump will visit Ahmedabad and New Delhi. The White House said Ahmedabad was chosen for the visit as it was in Gujarat, which was home to Prime Minister Modi and played an “important role” in Mahatma Gandhi’s life.

The President and The First Lady will travel to New Delhi and Ahmedabad, which is in Gujarat — home state to Prime Minister Modi which also played an important role in Mahatma Gandhi’s life and leadership of the Indian independence movement,” a statement from the Office of the Press Secretary said.

U.S. President Donald Trump will visit India on February 24 and 25, as per an official announcement from the White House on February 10 afternoon.

Prime Minister Modi and Mr. Trump had spoken over the weekend, the White House said. “During a phone call over the weekend, President Trump and Prime Minister Modi agreed the trip will further strengthen the United States-India strategic partnership and highlight the strong and enduring bonds between the American and Indian people.”
Preparations in India are underway. American security teams with their scanners and equipment had already arrived in India last week.
The Indian and the U.S. sides are trying to put together a limited trade deal which Mr. Modi and Mr. Trump will sign on to during the visit.

A defence deal is also reportedly on the cards. India is preparing to approve a $2.6 billion deal for 24 MH-60 Seahawk helicopters from Lockheed Martin, as per a report by Reuters.

The U.S. Department of State has approved the potential sale of a $1.867 billion Integrated Air Defence Weapon System (IADWS) to India.
The potential sale, which is being processed via the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) route, is now before the U.S. Congress for consideration, with a 30-day window for Congress raise any objections to the sale.

The IADWS system includes radar, launchers, targeting, and guidance systems, advanced medium-range air-to-air missile (AMRAAM) and Stinger missiles, and related equipment and support,” the spokesperson said.

The government had asked to buy an IADWS comprised of five AN/MPQ-64Fl Sentinel radar systems; 118 AMRAAM AIM-120C-7/C-8 missiles; three AMRAAM Guidance Sections; four AMRAAM Control Sections and 134 Stinger FIM-92L missiles, as per a statement from the State Department.

Also included are 32 M4A1 rifles; 40,320 M855 5.56mm cartridges; Fire Distribution Centres (FDC); Handheld Remote Terminals; Electrical Optical/Infrared (EO/IR) Sensor Systems; AMRAAM Non-Developmental Item-Airborne Instrumentation Units (NDI-AIU); Multi-spectral Targeting System-Model A (MTS-A); Canister Launchers (CN); High Mobility Launchers (HML); Dual Mount Stinger (DMS) Air Defence Systems; Vehicle Mounted Stinger Rapid Ranger Air Defence Systems, the statement said.Communications equipment, testing and training equipment and documentation and technical and logistics support are also part of the package, as per the statement.

This deal is very important for India according to the security experts. This deal includes high quality weapons by which the country will be more powerful in the security system.

U.S. President Donald Trump has said that he is looking forward to his visit to India later this month where millions of people would welcome him.

“I look forward to going to India,” Mr. Trump told reporters in the Oval Office, a day after the White House announced that he will be travelling to Ahmedabad in Gujarat and New Delhi on February 24 and 25.

Referring to his New Hampshire rally held a day earlier, which was attended by an estimated 40,000 to 50,000 people, the President said in a lighter vein that he might not feel so good with that number.
“When we have 50,000 people, I’m not going to feel so good we’ll have five to seven million people just from the airport to the new stadium. And you know it is the largest stadium in the world. [They are] building it now. It’s almost complete and it’s the largest in the world,” Mr. Trump said.

U.S. President DonaldwTrump maiden visit will start on February 24 at the Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad and the inauguration of the new Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Stadium, the largest cricket stadium in the world.
Mr. Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold the “Kem chho Trump” (Howdy Trump) event at the stadium with approximately 1.25 lakh people witnessing the special programme aimed at showcasing the Modi-Trump bonhomie. 

According to sources : Trump visit may effect Helicopter deal 
The deal for 24 MH-60R Multi-Role Helicopters (MRH) for the Navy, which is likely to be announced during the visit of U.S. President Donald Trump, is lined up for the final approval of the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) on Wednesday, official sources said. 

BIG DEAL delay

Speaking in Washington DC, Mr. Trump spoke in a similar vein. “We can have a trade deal with India but I am saving the big deal for later on. We’re doing a very big trade deal with India…we’ll have it. I don’t know if it’ll be done before the elections but we’ll have a very big deal with India,” he told reporters on Tuesday afternoon at the Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, before he flew to California.

The comments come days after U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer cancelled a trip to India — as reported in The Hindu — to finalise a mini-trade deal that the two countries were hoping to finalise during the visit.

“We’re not treated very well by India but I happen to like Prime Minister Modi a lot. And he told me we’ll have seven million people between the airport and the event. And the stadium, I understand, is sort of semi under-construction but it’s going to be the largest stadium in the world. So it’s going to be very exciting,” Mr. Trump said.

On trade, the government conceded that talks between U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal had not been able to conclude even a “mini-deal” yet, but held out the hope that Mr. Lightizer, who cancelled his visit last week might still travel as a part of Mr. Trump’s delegation., and also held out the possibility that talks on a free trade agreement (FTA) will soon begin. Among other senior officials who may travel are Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, and advisor and son-in-law to the President Jared Kushner.

Mr. Trump will be the eighth American President to visit India since Independence, and the fifth to visit in the last two decades, when the bilateral ties were reset. This will be the first-ever “standalone” visit by a U.S. President, as Mr. Trump is expected to travel directly to Delhi on February 23 from Washington, with a stopover at the U.S. Ramstein Base in Germany, and fly back the same route on February 25 night.

The 36-hour visit to India will begin on February 24 when Air Force One touches down in Ahmedabad and the Presidential couple will then fly to Agra to see the Taj at sunset, before flying into Delhi. On February 25, Mr. Trump will hold talks with Mr. Modi and have lunch with him before releasing a comprehensive joint statement. Both are expected to address business delegations in the afternoon and the Trumps will attend a banquet at Rashtrapati Bhavan before flying out on February 25 night.