US President Donald Trump leaves for India with family, looks forward to ‘big event’

Donald Trump is scheduled to arrive in India on Monday (February 24) after which he will be attending the 'Namaste Trump' event at the Motera Stadium in Ahmedabad. He has a jam-packed schedule for around 36 hours in India.

PTI photo

US President Donald Trump boarded his flight from Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland to India along with wife, daughter and officials on Sunday (February 23) evening, for a two-day visit (February 24-25). Before living White House, President Trump said that he is looking forward towards attending the grand event in India as he is expecting to address '' millions and millions of people'' at Motera Stadium in Gujarat's Ahmedabad.

President Trump will arrive at Ahmedabad airport at 11.40 am on Monday (February 24) after which he will be visiting Sabarmati ashram at 12.15 pm, followed by the grand 'Namaste Trump' event at the Motera Stadium scheduled to start at 1 pm. Motera Stadium is the world's largest cricket stadium with a seating capacity of over one lakh people. 

His next stop will be at Agra where he will be visiting the Taj Mahal after which he will leave for Delhi at around 5.45 pm and will further attend the official events. He has a jam-packed schedule for around 36 hours in India. 

On Tuesday (February 25), US First Lady Melania Trump will also visit a government school in Delhi to interact with students and understand the concept of Happiness Classes. President Trump will also receive a ceremonial welcome at the Rashtrapati Bhawan on February 25 after which he will go to the Rajghat to pay homage to Mahatma Gandhi. 

Before leaving for India, President Trump once again talked about his good relations with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, stressing that he and PM Modi are good friends and he is looking forward to meet the prime minister. 

Donald Trump's daughter and adviser Ivanka Trump also expressed happiness over her visit and said that she is honoured to return to India and this is a grand friendship between the world's two largest democracies.

In the wake of Trump's visit to India,  Delhi police also issued traffic advisory guiding motorists to avoid certain routes owing to security reasons. Delhi traffic police have asked commuters to check the Delhi traffic police's website and its twitter handle for updates on necessary traffic diversions.   

This will be the fifth meeting between PM Modi and Trump in the last eight months. The maiden visit to India is expected to significantly ramp up the bilateral defence and discuss the strategic ties and exchange of agreements and Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) between India-US.