A grandiose and colorful welcome. Arrived at the end of the morning in India, at the international airport of Ahmedabad, in the west of the country, Donald Trump and his wife Melania went to the biggest cricket stadium in the world during a "road show" of several kilometers to the sound of a giant parade deployed for the occasion.
Donald Trump's first state visit to India began with a giant meeting in this brand new stadium, alongside Indian Prime Minister Narandra Modi. It was to be followed by a visit to Agra, to attend the sunset at the Taj Mahal, before the continuation of the program in New Delhi, where bilateral talks between Indian and American officials will take place on Tuesday.
To prepare for Donald Trump's arrival, authorities in Ahmedabad have been busy day and night lately to put the city on its thirty-one. Huge panels celebrating the complicity of the American and Indian heads of state flourished along the route taken by the American procession.
In addition to the army of street sweepers deployed to clean up waste on the roads, the municipality has also tasked a special team to evacuate stray dogs and cows from the area. Some 45 monkeys, which swarm in the Indian metropolises, were captured in the zone and released far from there.
For the occasion, a brand new wall was built in front of a slum located on the route that the armored limousine of the American president.
The New Yorker said last week that "six to ten million people" would hurry to greet him along this route. More modest, Indian officials estimated that a few tens of thousands of people would be present.
No commercial agreement?
The joint meeting opening the visit, entitled "Namaste Trump" ("Hello Trump" in Hindi), is the Indian's return of favor to the American president for a similar large meeting between the two men in the United States, "Howdy Modi ", organized in Houston (Texas) last September.
Donald Trump then flies to the city of Agra and its emblematic Taj Mahal to watch the sunset over the sumptuous Mughal mausoleum.
Indian authorities have released large quantities of water into the Yamuna, the polluted river flowing at the foot of the monument erected in the 17th century by the emperor Shah Jahan, so that the presidential couple is not disturbed by the foul smells that usually emerge from it.
The arrival of Donald Trump in India should not be the occasion for major announcements. The two countries have been engaged in a trade showdown since last year, but due to the lack of common ground to date, no major trade deal is expected to be reached during the visit.
Washington is irritated by the historic protectionism of the South Asian giant and judges that American companies do not have sufficient access to its internal market.
The two leaders are still expected to sign the contract to buy New Delhi US military helicopters for $ 2.4 billion.
With AFP
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