AFP, Washington :
US President Barack Obama will travel to India in January for its Republic Day celebrations and talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the White House said Friday.
His trip follows up on Modi’s debut visit to Washington as India’s leader in September.
The charismatic Hindu nationalist prime minister has been courted by the United States as a key partner in its attempt to rebalance US diplomatic weight toward Asia.
“The president will meet with the prime minister and Indian officials to strengthen and expand the US-India strategic partnership,” White House press secretary Josh Earnest said.
Earnest did not give a precise date for the trip, but Republic Day commemorates the adoption of India’s constitution on January 26, 1950.
The White House said Obama would be the first US president to attend India’s Republic Day celebration.
In November, the two countries reached a breakthrough agreement in a bitter row over food subsidies that for months had been blocking a landmark global agreement to reduce trade barriers.
The deal marked a crucial step towards the full implementation of a World Trade Organization agreement reached in December 2013 in Bali, which would streamline global customs procedures.
US President Barack Obama will travel to India in January for its Republic Day celebrations and talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the White House said Friday.
His trip follows up on Modi’s debut visit to Washington as India’s leader in September.
The charismatic Hindu nationalist prime minister has been courted by the United States as a key partner in its attempt to rebalance US diplomatic weight toward Asia.
“The president will meet with the prime minister and Indian officials to strengthen and expand the US-India strategic partnership,” White House press secretary Josh Earnest said.
Earnest did not give a precise date for the trip, but Republic Day commemorates the adoption of India’s constitution on January 26, 1950.
The White House said Obama would be the first US president to attend India’s Republic Day celebration.
In November, the two countries reached a breakthrough agreement in a bitter row over food subsidies that for months had been blocking a landmark global agreement to reduce trade barriers.
The deal marked a crucial step towards the full implementation of a World Trade Organization agreement reached in December 2013 in Bali, which would streamline global customs procedures.
