Five months after the ‘Howdy, Modi!’ event in Houston, Texas, US President Donald Trump is set for a packed first state visit to India later this month.
Trump, along with First Lady Melania Trump, will arrive for a two-day India visit on February 24 and will travel to New Delhi and Ahmedabad in Gujarat for a joint public meeting with PM Modi at the giant Sardar Patel Stadium. The event will be called ‘Kem Chho, Trump’, after the Gujarati equivalent of ‘Howdy’. Over one lakh people are expected to attend the event.
Trump told reporters from the Oval Office that Modi has told him about the huge welcome planned in Ahmedabad. "He (PM Modi) said we will have millions and millions of people. My only problem is that last night we probably had 40 or 50,000 people… I'm not going to feel so good… There will be five to seven million people just from the airport to the new stadium (in Ahmedabad)," he joked.
Before the Gujarat event, the US President, along with PM Modi, will participate in a roadshow along a 10-km decorated stretch from the Ahmedabad airport to the Sabarmati Ashram, where he will pay tribute to Mahatma Gandhi.
"During a phone call over the weekend, President Trump and Prime Minister Modi agreed the trip will further strengthen the United States-India strategic partnership and highlight the strong and enduring bonds between the American and Indian people," the White House said in a statement.
