US President Trump, First Lady to visit India late February

WASHINGTON: The White House has announced on Monday that the US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump will travel to India on February 24-25 to meet with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other officials.

Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham said Trump and Modi spoke over the past via telephone and concluded that the trip would enhance the two counties ‘ strategic alliance and showcase the close bonds between the American and Indian people.

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Modi hugged Trump multiple times after a joint news conference in the Rose Garden, during his White House meeting in June 2017. Trump moved to Houston last September to appear before a gathering of 50,000 Indian Americans during a rally for Modi.

The trip comes as Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) faces violent protests at home against new controversial legislation on citizenship act and a potential loss in a major state election in New Delhi.