President Obama has arrived in India for a three-day trip. Upon landing in New Delhi on Sunday, the president and first lady Michelle Obama were greeted by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The warm welcome was a “departure from protocol,” India Today reports.
Talks between Obama and Modi are expected to cover a wide range of topics, including trade, climate change and global terrorism.
“President Obama’s India visit — the second of his presidency — is a fresh bid to make India an enduring strategic partner,” NPR’s Julie McCarthy tells our Newscast Desk. “U.S.-Indian relations have been adrift in recent years, and India’s foreign ministry spokesman said that they are working to ‘re-energize’ ties between the world’s two largest democracies.”
Until last year, Modi was barred from coming to the U.S. over anti-Muslim riots in his state of Gujarat in 2002, McCarthy says.
“No court ever indicted Modi,” she reports, “and the president and the prime minister have set aside any misgivings to strike up what appears to be a warm rapport.”
Monday, Obama will be Modi’s chief guest the Republic Day Parade. The parade celebrates the adoption of India’s constitution, The Washington Post explains, and is a “stunning, hours-long spectacle that showcases India’s culture, military, states and federal programs.”
There is extra security in place across the city, including at airports, ports and railway stations, the BBC reports. “Thousands of security personnel have been deployed in Delhi along with some 15,000 cameras,” the network says.
An Indian security personnel stands guard near India Gate ahead of the Republic Day Parade in New Delhi on Saturday. President Obama will attend the parade on Monday.
Anindito Mukherjee/Reuters/Landov
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Anindito Mukherjee/Reuters/Landov
Obama cut his trip short after the death of Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah. Instead of visiting the Taj Mahal Tuesday, he will leave for Saudi Arabia to pay his respects.
India Today is blogging live updates of the president’s visit.