India, US Committed To Defend People From Radical Islamic Terrorism: Trump

Ahmedabad: India and the US are committed to defend their people from radical islamic terrorism, resolved to significantly expand defence ties and are working on a “fantastic” trade deal, said US President Donald Trump on Monday while asserting that his country “loves” and is “loyal” to India.

Addressing a huge crowd at ‘Namaste Trump’ event at the Motera stadium here, the US president, accompanied by his wife Melania and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, talked about India’s great tradition of embracing individual freedom, rule of law, dignity of every human being and where people worship side-by-side in harmony.

On his maiden visit, Trump, who was welcomed by Modi on his arrival here, said his country will remain a “loyal” friend of India and called the Prime Minister an “exceptional leader” who works day and night for the country.

“India and the US are committed to fight terrorists and their ideology; that is why my government is working with Pakistan to crack down on terror groups,” Trump said in the presence of his family –daughter Ivanka, son-in-law Jared Kushner– and top brass of his administration.

“The US will always be faithful and loyal friend of India. Thank you for the spectacular welcome,” he added.

He also announced that the two countries will firm up defence deals worth USD 3 billion on Tuesday and that the US will become India’s premier defence partner.

“India and US have natural and enduring friendship,” Trump said to a cheering crowd.

“We are quickly revitalising our alliances all around world,” he said.

Trump said both countries are working on a “fantastic trade” deal, and observed that Modi is a “tough negotiator”.

The US president also heaped praises on Modi, saying the Prime Minister is a “living proof” of what an Indian can achieve with hard work as Trump referred to his humble background as a tea-seller, who had a landslide win in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

On his part, Modi welcomed Trump to “world’s largest democracy” and said a “new history” was being created.

Modi also praised Trump’s leadership in containing terrorism.

Trump said as the world’s largest economy, India gives hope to all humanity and has become an economic giant.

“There is a difference between a nation that rises by coercion and one that rises by setting its people free — that is India. India and the US have natural and enduring friendship,” he said.

He also touched on India’s cultural diversity and riches as he highlighted the success of its blockbuster movies like DDLJ (Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge) and Sholay, and its sporting icons like Sachin Tedulkar and Virat Kohli.

He highlighted the boom in the US economy under his presidency and added that India will soon be home to the biggest middle class as it will eliminate extreme poverty in in next 10 years.

On his part, Modi said ties between India and the US are no longer just another partnership but have touched far greater heights.

Welcoming Trump, he said a “new history” is being created.

Visit of President Trump to India with his family shows strong ties between India and the US, said Modi.

Over 100,000 Pack Stadium In India For Trump Visit

Ahmedabad: Over a lakh people gathered at the newly built cricket stadium in Motera area on Monday to witness US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressing the gathering at the Namaste Trump event.

Though Trump’s address was scheduled to start after 1.30 pm, people from across the state started arriving at the stadium, touted as the world’s biggest, since 8 am.

There was a continuous stream of people walking towards the stadium since morning as parking areas for vehicles were away from the stadium.

While many of the attendees were transported to the venue in buses, some were from the city and were eager to see both the leaders.

Many in the stadium were seen wearing masks with images of Modi and Trump printed on them.

For security reasons, each invitee was given a personal invitation and police conducted their background checks.

Bollywood singer Kailash Kher and local Gujarati singers entertained the audience for a couple of hours before Trump and Modi reached the stadium, which has the capacity to accommodate 1.10 lakh people, the highest for any cricket stadium in the world.

Gujarati singers like Kirtidan Gadhvi, Geeta Rabari and Kinjal Dave also entertained the audience for over two hours.

The invited guests also included Non Resident Indians and businessmen. For security reasons, no one was allowed to carry any banner or flag inside the stadium.

Though the audience was enthusiastic to see and hear both the leaders, sweltering heat forced some of them to leave even before Trump ended his speech, as the guests were sitting in the open stadium since morning.

The stadium, owned by the Gujarat Cricket Association, has been rebuilt after demolishing the old one, which was built in 1982 and had a seating capacity of 49,000.

The entire stadium complex is spread across over 64 acres and has a club house and an Olympic-size swimming pool.

The construction of the new stadium got completed in two years with an estimated cost of Rs 700 crore.

Celebrates ‘genius’ of Bollywood, remembers ‘DDLJ’ and ‘Sholay’

Ahmedabad: US President Donald Trump on Monday reached out to Indians by hailing the “genius” of the Hindi film industry and recalling two all-time favourites, “Sholay” and “Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge” (DDLJ). Addressing the ‘Namaste Trump’ event at the Motera Stadium here, the US president said people “take great joy” in watching Bollywood films and understanding Indian culture through them.

“This is the country that produces nearly 2,000 movies a year from the hub of genius and creativity known as Bollywood,” he told the gathering of about 100,000 people packed into the stadium.

“All over the planet people take great joy in scenes of bhangra, music and dance, romance and drama, and classic Indian films like ‘DDLJ’ and ‘Sholay’,” Trump said.

While the 1975 multi-starrer “Sholay”, labelled a “curry western” by many, is an action-adventure film that has stood the test of the decades, the 1995 Shah Rukh Khan-Kajol-led “DDLJ” is an out and out romance.

This is not the first effort by the US president to use popular culture to strike a chord with movie loving Indians.

Ahead of his maiden visit to India, Trump shared a video in which his face was superimposed on the hit movie-character Baahubali.

“Look so forward to being with my great friends in INDIA!” Trump tweeted on Saturday alongside the 81-second clip.

Before that, Trump praised Ayushmann Khurrana’s latest release “Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan”.

On a tweet complimenting the movie for celebrating a same-sex love story on the celluloid, Trump last week commented “great”.

Former US president Barack Obama also referenced “DDLJ” during his 2015 visit to India when he quoted Shah Rukh’s famous dialogue from the iconic film.

“Last celebration here we celebrated festival of lights in Mumbai. We danced with some children. Unfortunately, we were not able to schedule any dancing in this visit. ‘Senorita, bade bade desho mein’… You know what I mean,” Obama said while addressing a town hall event in Delhi.

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