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US President Barack Obama has landed in India on Sunday, embarking on a visit that he has hailed as the start of a new era of co-operation between the world’s largest democracies.
Breaking normal protocol, the Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, welcomed Mr Obama, as he disembarked from the plane.
Speaking ahead of his departure to India Today, Mr Obama said that, "I'd like to think the stars are aligned to finally realize the vision (of) India and America as true global partners."
His upbeat sentiment was echoed by the US ambassador in Delhi, Richard Verma, who said, "There's no question this is a defining time in the US-India relationship. Things not only feel different, they are different."
Mr Obama is set to attend India's Republic Day parade on Monday, becoming the first US President to have been invited. Accompanied by several congressional Democrats, as well as commerce and trade representatives, the issues of trade and security are thought to feature highly in bilateral talks.
Ram Madhav, a foreign-affairs adviser with India Prime Minister Narenda Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) also emphasised the importance of the trip, saying Mr Obama is “proceeding in a very meticulous manner to place India at a totally different, higher leel in global affairs.”
Chairman of India’s National Security Advisory Board (NSA) Shyam Saran hailed the trip, saying “US-India relations have reached a new height”. “The US is an indispensable partner,” he added.
Commenting on the visit, India's finance minister Arun Jaitley also said that India would “like a much greater understanding with the United States with regards to regional issues", highlighting security issues in the region in particular.
However, John Sifton, Asia director for Human Rights Watch, said that there were also issues regarding human rights in India that may still pose a stumbling block in US-India relations.
“There’s a lot of issues bubbling under the surface that they’re not talking about publicly,” said Sifton.
Mr Obama had earlier said “While it’s true that progress has not always come as fast as we would have liked, we’ve succeeded in deepening the U.S.-India relationship across the board.”
Human rights groups such as Amnesty International and Human Rights First have also called on the US President to highlight concerns over serious issues in the country, during his trip. See more from the New York Times here.