Donald Trump to visit India on Feb 24-25, confirms White House

US President Donald Trump will visit India between February 24 and 26, White House announced on Tuesday via tweet. 

Trump will stop in the capital New Delhi and the western state of Gujarat during his visit to India. Trump and First Lady Melania Trump will make the trip to "strengthen the United States - India strategic partnership," the announcement said.

President @realDonaldTrump & @FLOTUS will travel to India from February 24-25 to visit Prime Minister @narendramodi!

The trip will further strengthen the U.S.-India strategic partnership & highlight the strong & enduring bonds between the American & Indian people. 

— The White House (@WhiteHouse) February 10, 2020

Gujarat is the home state of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and was also the home of independence icon Mahatma Gandhi.

The White House said that Trump and Modi talked by telephone over the weekend.

The two leaders have pursued a close relationship, with Modi visiting in September and hosting Trump at a huge rally in Houston, Texas, dubbed "Howdy, Modi!"

India invited Trump during PM Modi’s visit to the US in June 2017. This invitation was later converted into an invite for the 2019 Republic Day parade.

However, Trump turned down the invitation citing scheduling constraints and the dates clashing with the annual State of the Union address.

The last time a US president visited India was Barack Obama in 2015. He was also the first US President to attend India’s Republic Day parade.