Overview of US President Donald Trump visit to India on February 24-25

The President of United States of America (USA), Donald John Trump, paid a State Visit to India on 24-25 February 2020, at the invitation of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi. He arrived at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel international airport in Ahmedabad, Gujarat for India visit to strengthen the Indo-US friendship and trade deal. He was accompanied by his wife Melania, and 12-member delegation including his daughter Ivanka and son-in-law Jared Kushner. He was received by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. It was 7th American president and first visit by Donald Trump to India.Deals & Agreement:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump met in New Delhi for bilateral talks.

—US surpasses China to become India’s top trading partner
The US has surpassed China to become India’s top trading partner, showing greater economic ties between the two countries. According to the data of the commerce ministry, in 2018-19, the bilateral trade between the US and India stood at USD 87.95 billion.During the period, India’s two-way commerce with China aggregated at USD 87.07 billion. During April-December 2019-20, the bilateral trade between the US and India stood at USD 68 billion. It stood at USD 64.96 billion with China in the same period.

—India, U.S. have finalised defence deals worth $3 billion for MH60R navy choppers, Apaches
India and the US closed defence deals worth $3 billion which included the sale of state-of-the-choppers, six AH-64E Apache Helicopters, and 24 MH-60R Sea Hawk helicopters to India under the Foreign Military Sales program of the US government.

• Indian Army would get the advanced multi-role Apache helicopters whose fuselages and aero structures will be locally made at Hyderabad, Telangana the MH-60 Romeo Sea Hawk choppers, which have anti-submarine capabilities, are meant for the Indian Navy.
• As per the contract, the six Apache choppers, costing $930 million, would be made available to India by 2023. On other hand, MH-60R helicopters would replace the Indian Navy’s ageing fleet of British-made Sea King helicopters.
• The 24 MH-60 helicopters, built by Lockheed Martin’s Sikorsky Aircraft, will be procured under the ‘government-to-government’ route.

—ISRO-NASA joint space mission for 2022 launch; blueprint discussed in Modi-Trump talks
There would be collaboration between Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) for a joint space mission slotted for 2022. The mission would be in relation with world’s first dual-frequency Synthetic Aperture Radar satellite. There would also be an advance cooperation in Earth observation, Mars and planetary exploration, heliophysics, human spaceflight and commercial space cooperation.

–India, US sign three pacts in health and oil sectors
Both nations inked a bilateral Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that seeks to promote access to high quality, safe, effective, and affordable medications for Indian and U.S. consumers.

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–India, US decide to take ties to comprehensive global strategic partnership level

–India, US agree to create a counter-narcotics working group to fight drugs trafficking

“Namaste, Trump” event
Namaste, Trump event was organized for Donald Trump at Ahmedabad’s newly-built Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Cricket Stadium in Motera. It is the world’s biggest cricket stadium. The 125,000-strong crowd gathered to welcome to US president on his first visit to India. The event was on the lines “Howdy, Modi!” event organised for PM Modi during last year’s US visit.

Donald Trump, Narendra Modi embarked on 22-km-long ‘India Road Show’ in Ahmedabad
US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi embarked on a 22-km-long roadshow from the Ahmedabad International Airport.  Artists and performers from many states were allotted a stage on the entire route to perform in their traditional attire. It has been named as ‘India Road Show’ by the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation.

Trump visited the historic Sabarmati Ashram
President Donald Trump and his wife Melania  paid tribute to Mahatma Gandhi at Sabarmati Ashram, Gujarat which was home to Mahatma Gandhi between 1917 and 1930 during India’s freedom struggle. It was from here that he launched the Dandi yatra, or Salt March, against the British rule.

• Gifts to President: A marble replica of Mahatma Gandhi’s “three wise monkeys” statue, a copy of his Talisman or a piece of wisdom as well as a special edition of his autobiography were among the items gifted to US President Donald Trump and his wife Melania during their visit to the Sabarmati Ashram.
• “three wise monkeys”: The sculpture was a replica of the statue that was gifted to Gandhi by a Japanese monk way back in 1933, a trustee of the Sabarmati Ashram said.
• Talisman: Gandhiji wrote it in August 1947, guiding people in public life to make a decision while recalling the face of the poorest of the poor.
• Special edition of Gandhi’s autobiography: The autobiography titled as ‘The Story of My Experiments with Truth’, as well as a pencil drawing of a rare photograph of the Mahatma when he was coming out of 10, Downing Street (London)
• Replica of Charkha: During their visit, Trump and his wife also took interest in ‘charkha’ (spinning wheel), a replica of which was also gifted to them by the Ashram.
• Handspun khesh: The Sabarmati Ashram Preservation and Memorial Trust gifted Trump and Melania three handspun khesh (a form of fabric) made up of khadi that is inspired by a sari of Gandhi’s wife Kasturba Gandhi, a booklet containing 150 quotes of the Mahatma, printed on khadi paper.

Donald Trump and his family in Agra to visit Taj Mahal
Mr. Trump and First Lady Melania Trump was received at the Kheria airbase by Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. They visited the iconic Taj Mahal in Agra, the 7th century Mughal-era mausoleum built as a monument of love. It was built by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his wife Mumtaz Mahal who died in 1631.

• The last U.S. President to visit the Mughal-era wonder was Bill Clinton who had come to India in 2000. He had seen the Taj along with daughter Chelsea Clinton.
• In 1959, then U.S. President David Dwight Eisenhower had visited Taj along with then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru.

US First Lady Melania Trump arrives at govt school to attend ‘Happiness Class
US First Lady Melania Trump attended a ‘Happiness Class’ at a south Delhi government school and was inspired by the curriculum. The ‘Happiness Class’ was started by the Aam Aadmi Party in 2018. As part of the programme, students are taught various activities, including meditation, street plays, basic obedience and aims to reduce anxiety and stress levels among children.

After their two-day trip in India, Donald Trump departed for the US following their banquet dinner at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. A dinner banquet was hosted by the President Ram Nath Kovind in the honour of the US President.

Controversies:

-President Trump’s convoy passed through the Sardarnagar area of Ahmedabad, which contains several slums. A four-foot tall, 500-metre-long wall has been built along this section, which residents say is meant to “hide the poor people”.

-First Lady Melania Trump’s scheduled visit to a Delhi government school also attracted controversy, after Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia were dropped from the event.

About USA:
Capital– Washington, D.C.
Currency– United States Dollar