Obama arrives in New Delhi

INDIA: US President Barack Obama touched down in New Delhi Sunday and was greeted by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at the start of the official leg of his three-day trip to India. Obama’s itinerary in New Delhi includes an address to parliament on Monday and closed-door meetings with Singh and President Pratibha Patil, plus the leader of the ruling Congress party, Sonia Gandhi.

The US president has frequently hailed Singh, credited with India’s economic reforms in the 1990s, as a leader who makes an impact at world meetings with his quiet intellect and gravitas.

A smiling Singh, who was the first foreign leader to be given a full state visit in Washington by Obama, led a delegation to welcome the president and wife Michelle as they stepped out of Air Force One in the Indian capital.

Obama began his visit with a trip to the commercial capital Mumbai, where he announced 10 billion dollars’ worth of trade deals on Saturday and met leading Indian businessmen.

He will also visit the Raj Ghat, the site of independence hero Mahatma Gandhi’s cremation after his assassination in 1948. Obama visited Gandhi’s former home in Mumbai on Saturday.

Barack Obama will also be meeting Congress President Sonia Gandhi and attending a reception by the U.S. Ambassador at the Roosevelt House. Obama is on a four-day visit to India. He arrived in Mumbai Saturday and is to reach New Delhi Sunday afternoon.

Earlier on Sunday, Obama and his wife visited a primary school in Mumbai to celebrate the Indian festival Diwali, or festival of lights with schoolchildren.

He also attended an e-conference with farmers in Rajasthan and visited an agricultural exhibition at St. Xavier university in Mumbai.

Saturday evening, Obama attended a meeting with U.S. and Indian CEOs in Taj Mahal hotel and announced a 10 billion U.S. dollar business deals between the two countries.

New Delhi, Sunday, AFP