After arrival in Ahmedabad, a Trump roadshow and visit to Sabarmati

US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump landed in Ahmedabad in Gujarat on Monday for his 36-hour-long India visit. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who had already arrived in Ahmedabad, welcomed Trump, who is on his first visit to India after becoming the US president in 2016.  The Air Force One plane carrying Trump and wife Melania lands at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel airport at 11.37 am. 

From the airport, the duo embarked on a 22-km-long roadshow. During the roadshow, both the leaders visited Sabarmati Ashram, where Mahatma Gandhi spent 13 years during India's freedom struggle. After the roadshow, the two leaders will address a gathering at the Namaste Trump event at the Motera cricket stadium here this afternoon.

The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation has left no stone unturned to make the roadshow a memorable experience for the dignitaries as well as the people. Artistes and performers from many states were allotted a stage on the entire route to perform in their traditional attire. Around 50 stages were erected on the route, starting from the airport till Motera stadium via Indira bridge. Authorities said over one lakh people are expected to line up along the route of the roadshow, which has been named as 'India Road Show' by the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation.

Modi, who reached Ahmedabad over an hour before Trump landed here, received Trump and his wife Melania upon their arrival.

Earlier in the day, Trump tweeted in Hindi on his way to India, saying he is eager to visit the country and would be soon meeting all. On board the special Air Force One aircraft along with his delegation, he took to the microblogging site to express his eagerness and posted the tweet in Hindi: "Ham Bharat Aane Ke Liye Tatpar Hain. Ham Raste Me Hain, Kuchh Hi Ghanton Me Ham Sabse Milenge. (We are eager to visit India. We are on our way and would be soon meeting all)". Soon came PM Modi's reply: 'Atithi Devo Bhava'. 

The US president is accompanied by First Lady Melania, daughter Ivanka, son-in-law Jared Kushner and the top brass of his administration. Just before his departure, Trump said he had committed to visit India long time back and he is looking forward to be with the people of India.

Trump's maiden visit to India is expected to significantly ramp up bilateral defence and strategic ties but unlikely to produce tangible outcome in resolving thorny issues like trade tariffs.

The nearly 36-hour-long visit by Trump is also set to send across a clear message of growing congruence of interests on major geopolitical developments in the region and beyond, particularly when China has been expanding its military might and economic clout.

The 'Namaste Trump' event at the Ahmedabad stadium will be similar to the landmark 'Howdy, Modi!' event hosted by the Indian-American community in honour of Prime Minister Modi during his visit to Houston in September 2019.

From Ahmedabad, the US president will travel to Agra to have a glimpse of the iconic Taj Mahal. The Trump family will spend about an hour at the Taj Mahal before sunset. Then they will leave for Delhi for the main leg of the visit. On the morning of February 25, Trump and the First Lady would be accorded a ceremonial welcome at the forecourt of the Rashtrapati Bhavan.

From there, they would go to Rajghat to pay homage at the 'samadhi' of Mahatma Gandhi. It would be followed by restricted and delegation-level talks between Trump and Modi at Hyderabad House. Prime Minister Modi would host a lunch for the US president following the bilateral talks.

In the afternoon, Trump is expected to attend certain private events at the US Embassy, including a roundtable with industry representatives. In the evening, the US president will meet President Ram Nath Kovind at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. A banquet will be hosted by Kovind. President Trump will depart from India later that evening. 

(WIth PTI inputs)