US President Donald Trump's daughter Ivanka Trump and son-in-law Jared Kushner will accompany him to India next week. (Photo Credit: Twitter @IvankaTrump)
New Delhi:
US President Donald Trump's daughter Ivanka Trump will accompany him to India next week, according to official sources. The delegation will also include his senior advisor and son-in-law Jared Kushner. President Trump and First Lady Melania are scheduled to travel to Ahmedabad, Agra and New Delhi on February 24 and 25.
Both Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner are senior advisors to the US President. US National Security Advisor Robert O' Brien, Secretary of the Treasury Steve Mnuchin, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and Secretary of Energy Dan Brouillette are also expected to be part of the delegation. However, US trade representative, Robert Lighthizer, will not be coming.
Talking about his visit, Donald Trump said he will "talk business" with Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his first trip to India. He added that India has been hitting the US "very hard" on trade for many years with high tariffs. "I'm going to India next week and we're talking trade. They've been hitting us very hard for many, many years," Trump said at a 'Keep America Great' rally in Colorado on Thursday.
Trump told thousands of his supporters that he "really likes" Prime Minister Modi and they would be talking business. Downplaying the expectation of a trade deal with India during his visit, Trump said the two countries could make a "tremendous" trade deal, but indicated that the talks on this might slow down if he did not get a good deal. Ahead of Trump's visit, there have been reports on India and the US agreeing on a trade package as a precursor to a major trade deal.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump made yet another tall claim about the size of the crowd that will welcome him in Ahmedabad, saying Prime Minister Narendra Modi has told him that there will 10 million people to greet him on his arrival for his maiden visit to India. Speaking to reporters at the Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on Tuesday, Trump said that Modi told him that "we'll have 7 million people between the airport and the event."
"So it's going to be very exciting. But he says between the stadium and the airport, we'll have about 7 million people. So it's going to be very exciting. I hope you all enjoy it," he said.
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On Thursday, Trump upped the crowd size by three million at a 'Keep America Great' rally in Colorado. "I hear, they are going to have 10 million people. They say anywhere from six to 10 million people are going to be showing up along the route to one of the largest stadiums in the world, the largest cricket stadium in the world, which is brand new and beautiful," said Trump, who is seeking reelection in the November presidential polls.
But according to a top civic official in Ahmedabad, the total population of the city is only around 70 lakh. The authorities believe that between one to two lakh people are expected to line up along the 22-km route of the road show by Modi and Trump from the airport to the Motera cricket stadium, said to be the world's largest.
"We believe that around one to two lakh people will gather to welcome the dignitaries during the road show," Ahmedabad Municipal Commissioner Vijay Nehra said on Thursday, contradicting the claims made by the US President.
Addressing his supporters, Trump spoke about his India visit and said the "Namaste Trump" rally in Ahmedabad would spoil him. "Prime Minister Modi said, we will have 10 million people greet you. Here's my problem. We have a packed house. We have a lot of people, thousands of people that couldn't get in. It's going to look like peanuts from now on," he said.
"I'll never be satisfied with the crowd. If we have 10 million people in India, how can I be satisfied when we fill up like a 60,000-seat stadium? I am getting spoiled," Trump said.
One of Trump's supporters from the audience then suggested that he build a bigger stadium.
(With PTI inputs)
