After a hiatus of four years, the US first couple will finally get an opportunity to visit the Taj Mahal, the monument of love.
When they visited India in 2010, US President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama could not visit the Taj Mahal. Instead, they were given a tour of Humayun Tomb, a piece of Mughal architecture in the heart of the capital.
This time, Obama will visit the Taj Mahal before his departure. He is expected to arrive here on January 24, will have a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on January 25 and be the first US president to be the chief guest at the Republic Day parade on January 26.
On the last day, he will fly to Agra to visit the “monument of love”, sources said. The US president may also address a meeting at one of the colleges in Delhi, details of which are not yet known.
An advance team from the US will be in Delhi later this week to finalise details of Obama's visit, Syed Akbaruddin, the spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs said here on Monday. US Secretary of State John Kerry visited India last week to discuss Obama’s visit with Indian officials.
“Both India and the US look at this as a landmark visit. We are both keen to have an excellent outcome for these visits and working hard on it,” Akbaruddin said.
On the first day of the US president’s visit, Obama and Modi will hold comprehensive talks on bilateral ties and discuss ways to enhance cooperation in key components, including civil nuclear and defence pacts.
There is a possibility of renewing the 10-year defence cooperation agreement between New Delhi and Washington this time.
India and the US have already agreed to renew the 10-year defence cooperation with increased focus on export licensing and technology transfer that may eventually lead to co-development of new military technologies and production of critical strategic hardware, currently used by the US armed forces, in India.
The 2005 Framework for the US-India Defence Relationship was signed by then defence minister Pranab Mukherjee and his US counterpart Donald Rumsfeld.
DH News Service