On maiden India trip, Trump says US relations with Pakistan ‘very good’

U.S. President Donald Trump, first lady Melania Trum and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi attend a “Namaste Trump” event during Trump’s visit to India, at Sardar Patel Gujarat Stadium, in Ahmedabad, India, February 24, 2020. PHOTO: REUTERS

AHMEDABAD: US President Donald Trump, during his maiden trip to India on Monday, said Washington was hopeful of “reduced tensions and greater stability” between Pakistan and India.

“Our relationship with Pakistan is a very good one,” Trump said while addressing a crowd of more than 100,000 people at a stadium in the western state of Gujarat, shortly after arriving on his maiden visit to the country

“We are hopeful for reduced tensions, greater stability and the future of harmony for all of the nations of South Asia,” he added.

Face-off: ‘America First’ vs ‘Make in India’ as Modi hosts Trump

Trump has also vowed to boost trade ties between the United States and India, and said the United States was prepared to supply India with defence equipment ranging from drones to helicopters and missile systems.

We look forward to providing the “best and most feared military equipment” to India, said Trump.

Trump said he looked forward to expanding space cooperation between the two nations, and said both sides were at the early stages of reaching an “incredible” trade agreement.

The US President Donald Trump arrived on Monday in the western Indian city of Ahmedabad for a two-day trip aimed at reinvigorating ties between the world’s biggest democracies that have been strained by trade rows.

Trump, accompanied by his wife, Melania, will attend a rally at a giant stadium in the city, the political home of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Crowds lined up outside a giant stadium in western India ahead of US President Donald Trump’s first visit to the country during which the two sides will aim to reset relations that have been buffeted by a trade spat.

Trump landed in Ahmedabad a little before noon local time (0630 GMT). A roadshow is planned and a huge reception will be held in a 110,000-seat cricket stadium said to be the world’s largest.

In the stadium, many people were wearing customised white hats saying “Namaste (Greetings) Trump”, while workers handed out thousands of cardboard masks of the US president.

“We are ready to come to India, we are on our way, we will be meeting everyone in a few hours,” Trump tweeted in the Hindi language before he landed.

Modi, who has built a personal rapport with Trump, is pulling out the stops for Trump’s visit even though a trade deal that Washington was pushing for has run into problems.

The rally in Ahmedabad will be a larger version of the “Howdy Modi” rally that Trump and Modi jointly appeared at in Houston to a jubilant crowd of 50,000 Indian Americans last year, where Trump likened Modi to Elvis Presley for his crowd-pulling power.

Many roads were blocked off in Ahmedabad, shops shut and police stationed on rooftops and balconies. School children boarded buses bound for the stadium shouting “We love Trump.” Others were carrying Indian flags.

Trump, who seeks re-election in November, routinely gets the biggest audience of any candidate in the US presidential race, ranging up to 20,000 or so, and he has been grudgingly admiring of Modi’s ability to get a bigger crowd than him.

From Ahmedabad, he heads to Agra for a sunset visit to the iconic Taj Mahal mausoleum, before landing in New Delhi for a summit with Indian officials and business leaders.

But the prospects of resolving a wrangle over trade that led to both countries imposing retaliatory tariffs remains elusive. Indian and US officials have both said progress is unlikely to be made until after the US election.

Trump plans to raise issue of religious freedom with Indian PM Modi: official

The two sides have been arguing over US demands for access to India’s poultry and dairy markets, Indian price controls on medical devices such as stents and stringent local data storage rules that US technology firms say will raise the cost of doing business.

Modi’s government has sought restoration of trade concessions that Trump withdrew in 2019 and greater access to US markets for its pharmaceutical and farm products.

The two countries are expected to announce defence deals including an Indian navy plan to buy helicopters from Lockheed Martin worth $2.6 billion