US President Barack Obama on Saturday embarked on his highly
anticipated three-day landmark trip to India during which the two
countries will strive to make progress on climate change, defence and
economic cooperation. Obama left by Air Force One, the presidential
aircraft, from the Andrews Air Force Base.
The President is accompanied by a sizeable delegation that will
include several top officials, as well as First Lady Michelle Obama.
Obama is travelling to India at the invitation of Prime Minister
Narendra Modi.
The Presidential aircraft will have a brief refuelling halt at
Ramstein in Germany and will touch down in Delhi at 10:00am on Sunday at
Air Force Station, Palam.
The President, who is making his second visit to India, will be
joined there by multiple members of his Cabinet, influential business
leaders and a host of US lawmakers, including Nancy Pelosi, the minority
leader of the US House of Representatives.
On his arrival, Obama will be accorded a ceremonial welcome at about
12 noon at the majestic Rashtrapati Bhawan by President Pranab Mukherjee
and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Thereafter, he will pay homage to Mahatma Gandhi at the Rajghat and
participate in a tree planting event there. Obama will then join Modi
for a restricted working lunch at the Hyderabad House and participate in
a "walk and talk" with the Indian Prime Minister there, the White House
said.
The two leaders will then have an expanded delegation level meeting, which is expected to last for about an hour.
Later in the evening, Obama is scheduled to meet US embassy personnel
and families at ITC Maurya Hotel. He will then drive down to
Rashtrapati Bhawan to attend the state banquet hosted by President
Mukherjee.
On January 26, Obama will participate in the Republic Day celebration as the chief guest along with the First Lady.
Later, the Obamas will attend a 'At Home' reception hosted by President Mukherjee at Rashtrapati Bhawan.
In the afternoon, Obama and Modi will participate in a CEO forum roundtable and make remarks at a US-India Business Summit.
On January 27 morning, the US President will give an address at Siri
Fort Auditorium and then leave for Saudi Arabia. He has cancelled his
much-publicised visit to Agra to see the Taj Mahal.
Obama will travel to Riyadh in order to pay respects to King Salman
bin Abdulaziz and the family of the late King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz.
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