Table of Contents
POTUS in India
- The 45th US President Donald Trump has arrived in India for his first ever diplomatic visit to the nation.
- He is accompanied by a high-level delegation including First Lady Melania Trump, the President’s daughter and advisor Ivanka Trump, son-in-law and advisor Jared Kushner and a galaxy of top American officials.
- A grand public reception was held for Trump at Motera Stadium, termed as ‘Namaste Trump’
Air Force One
Who organised ‘Namaste Trump’?
- The organisers were not the Gujarat government, but a private new group.
- The chief organisers behind the stadium event is a newly-formed outfit called the ‘Donald Trump Nagrik Abhinandan Samiti’ (DTNAS)
- Cost – Approx. ₹120 Crore for the 3 hour event
Sabarmati Ashram Visit
- Trump will visited the ‘Hriday Kunj‘ at Sabarmati Ashram of Mahatma Gandhi.
- First USA president to do so.
- The Trumps spun the yarn before making an entry in the guestbook.
- Several gifts, including Mahatma Gandhi ji’s biography, a charkha (spinning wheel) and a marble statue of three monkeys symbolising ‘See No Evil, Speak No Evil and Hear No Evil’ were presented to trump at the Sabarmati Ashram.
Road Show
- POTUS was led past a “road show” of stages representing the 28 states of India on his way to the Motera stadium
Trump Speech Highlights
- America will always be India’s faithful friend
- India holds special place in our hearts
- India gives hope to humanity.
- Praises for PM Modi and his Journey
- In just 70 years, India has become the largest democracy and has become one of the greatest nations in the world.
Praise for Government Schemes
- Villages in India have access to electricity.
- Over 300 million more have got internet connection.
- India will soon become the home to the world’s largest middle class.
- What is impressive is that India has achieved all this as a democracy and as a tolerant country. India’s achievement is unrivalled.
- Praised India’s space tech, specifically Chandrayan II mission
Soft Power Acknowledgement
Terrorism
- India, US committed to fight terrorists and their ideology;that is why my govt is working with Pakistan to crack down on terror groups.
- Our relationship with Pakistan is a very good one.
- We are hopeful for reduced tensions, greater stability & the future of harmony for all of the nations of South Asia
- United States is determined to help protect India from the threat of “radical Islamic terrorism.”
Major Announcements
- $ 3 billion Defence deal that will send state-of-the-art military helicopters to the country.
- 24 MH-60R helicopters for the Indian Navy
- 6 AH-64E Apache helicopters for the Indian Army.
Question
- What was the first tri-service military exercise between the USA and India ?
What about Trade deal?
- ’’USA and India will be making a very big trade deal to boost our countries economy. I am sure that we can reach a good trade. But PM Modi is a tough negotiator.’’
- Trump Lashed out at trade barriers imposed by India.
- Multiple rounds of talks have taken place between Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal and US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer in the past few weeks over telephone to sign a possible trade deal during THIS visit.
- However, the two countries seems to have been stuck on some of the sticky issues in the way of finalising a mega trade deal during the visit.
Importance of India for USA
- Energy – Nuclear deal
- Security – On the Indo-Pacific region, China has been trying to spread its influence in the resource-rich region.
- To counter Beijing, the US has been pushing for a broader role by India in the strategically important region.
India USA Trade
- India is now 5th largest economy
- U.S. goods and services trade with India totalled an estimated $142.6 billion in 2018.
- Imports were $58.7 billion
- Exports were $83.9 billion.
- The U.S. goods and services trade deficit with India was $25.2 billion in 2018.
- India is currently USA’s 9th largest goods trading partner with $87.9 billion in tot.al (two way) goods trade during 2018
Domestic Politics
- The Indian American population in the U.S., totalling about 4 million, increased by 40% between 2010 and 2017.
- Thus, making them the fastest growing immigrant group in the country
- Elections in November 2020
Do such events help our foreign policy and relations ?
- Political leaders have realised how a barrage of media images can hypnotise the public and crowd out both past and future.
- The event by themselves carry immense symbolic value
- The world will take note of how far India-US relations have come.
- This is a positive outcome.
- Personal relations between leaders do help but only to a certain extent.
Risk to Indian Americans in USA ?
- An Indian Prime Minister taking an overt partisan position on US domestic politics can have negative consequences.
- The backlash against China’s attempts to influence Australia’s domestic politics showed that once nationalist political sentiments take precedence in the host country, immigrant communities face the risk of being isolated and targeted.
Diplomacy without publicity
- PM Narasimha Rao addressed a joint session of the US Congress in 1994 to a standing ovation,
- Jawaharlal Nehru was received at the airport by President John F Kennedy.
- Jaswant Singh-Strobe Talbott talks, held in 2000 under PM Vajpayee, laid the groundwork for future India-US engagement. These meetings, held behind closed doors and without breathtaking visuals or easily remembered soundbites have quietly slipped out of public memory.
Latest Burning Issues | Free PDF
WhatsApp