U.S President Donald Trump said he has been told to expect millions and millions of people lined up to greet him when he and Melania Trump undertake their first visit to India later this month. He was speaking in the Oval Office. The U.S president called Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi “A friend of mine and a great gentleman”. Trump hinted at the prospect of signing a limited trade agreement during his trip to India. It is noteworthy that Trump will travel to India on 24 and 25 February 2020. He is set to be given a grand welcome at the new 110,000-capacity Motera cricket stadium in Ahmedabad. Modi first invited Trump to visit India back in 2017. Both leaders had a phone call over the weekend and the White House also confirmed the dates for Trump’s long-awaited trip.
Trump informed reporters and said, “I just spoke with Prime Minister Modi, and I don’t know who’s going, but he said we’ll have millions and millions of people”. The president joked that his American audiences paled by comparison. He was referring to his rally in New Hampshire on Monday. There were more than 40,000 spectators. Trump said, “When we have 50,000 people, I’m not going to feel so good in Ahmedabad. We’ll have 5 to 7 million people just from the airport to the new stadium”. On Monday, Modi said in tweets that he was extremely delighted that Trump and the First Lady would be visiting
Modi added, “India and the U.S share a common commitment to democracy and pluralism. Our nations are cooperating extensively on a wide range of issues. Robust friendship between our nations augurs well not only for our citizens but also for the entire world”. Ahmedabad is considered a significant destination for Modi to be the largest city and former capital in his home state of Gujarat. The earlier state visits to feature a stop in the city include those of Xi Jinping in 2014, Japan’s Shinzo Abe in 2017 and Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu in 2018. Point to be noted that Modi made his name as chief minister in Ahmedabad. He was also alleged of allowing a massacre of minority Muslims to take place during riots in 2002.