At the ‘Howdy, Modi!’ event in Houston, US President Donald Trump will spend nearly two hours and share the stage with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
As opposed to earlier reports of Trump making a guest appearance at the mega event, a schedule released by the White House late on Saturday said the US president will spend 100 minutes at Houston’s NRG Stadium where more than 50,000 Indian-Americans will be present.
The exact duration of Trump’s speech is not known yet, however, his remarks on India and Indian-Americans may last for about 30 minutes, according to PTI. He is also expected to sit through PM Modi’s address.
“By coming to Houston and attending the “Howdy, Modi!” event, he (Trump) has won the hearts of Indian-Americans. He will earn more votes from Indian Americans in the 2020 presidential elections,” Bharat Barai, eminent Indian-American community leader from Indiana, was quoted as saying by PTI
Barai, who is also a close friend of PM Modi, had in 2014 organised the Prime Minister’s Madison Square Garden event in New York.
Trump and Modi, leaders of the two largest democracies, addressing a gathering of 50,000 Indian-Americans from one platform is historic, Barai said.
“This will further cement India-US relationship,” he added.
“It (Modi-Trump joint rally) will be a great opportunity to emphasize the strong ties between the people of the United States and India, to reaffirm the strategic partnership between the world’s oldest and largest democracies, and to discuss ways to deepen their energy and trade relationship,” White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham had said in a statement last week.
After attending the ‘Howdy, Modi!’ event in Houston, the US president will fly to Wapakoneta in Ohio, where Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison will accompany him for a visit to a new Australia-owned manufacturing facility.
Trump will then fly to New York to attend UN General Assembly’s annual session. He will meet Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday.
The US president will on Tuesday hold a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Modi, their second meeting in three days, the US announced on Friday.
