NEW DELHI (AP) — President Donald Trump’s two-day visit to India turned to substance Tuesday after opening with a heavy dose of pomp and pageantry, but few concrete accomplishments were expected from the whirlwind trip.
Trump kicked off his second day on the subcontinent with an elaborate outdoor welcome ceremony in front of the grand Rashtrapati Bhavan Presidential Palace in New Delhi.
Cannons fired as the president’s armored car, nicknamed “The Beast,” rolled through the palace gates accompanied by a parade of red-uniformed guards on horseback. The ceremony included hundreds of military officials, marching with instruments and swords, as well as an official greeting by India’s president and its prime minister, Narendra Modi.
Trump and Modi are expected to talk trade and announce an arms deal Tuesday as part of a jam-packed day in the Indian capital that will include a joint statement with Modi, meetings with business leaders and embassy officials, a solo news conference and an opulent state dinner before the president heads back to Washington.
But Trump has made clear that little progress is expected on the trade front, despite rising tensions between the countries after the Trump administration imposed tariffs on Indian steel and aluminium exports. India responded with higher penalties on U.S. agricultural goods and restrictions on medical devices, prompting the U.S. to strip India of its decades-old trade preferences.
Trump told reporters Monday that he’s in “no rush” for a trade agreement with India.
Eyes also will be on whether Trump criticizes Modi over a new citizenship law that provides a fast track to naturalization for some migrants who entered the country illegally while fleeing religious persecution, but excludes Muslims, raising fears that the country is moving toward a religious citizenship test. Trump typically refrains from publicly rebuking world leaders for human rights abuses during his overseas trips. He spoke at length on Monday about measures his administration had taken to combat the threat of “radical Islamic terrorism.”
Trump’s comments came during a mega-rally in the world’s largest cricket stadium — part of an elaborate welcome for a president who revels in pomp and pageantry.
Everywhere he went, Trump was greeted by thousands of cheering Indian citizens, troops of traditional dancers and roadways lined with posters and billboards celebrating his visit. Trump and first lady Melania Trump also went on a stunning sunset tour of the famed Taj Mahal.
On Tuesday, the couple participated in a wreath-laying ceremony at Raj Ghat, a memorial to Mohandas Gandhi in New Delhi at the site where the famed Indian independence leader was cremated after his assassination in January 1948.
Trump had visited Gandhi’s home on Monday, donning a prayer shawl and inspecting the spinning wheel once used by the celebrated pacifist.
