Donald Trump is heading to India next week, and the country is hastily building a wall that critics claim is designed to shield the President from seeing the nation’s infamous slums.
The Commander-in-chief and First Lady Melania Trump will be greeted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi when they land in Ahmedabad on Monday.
The pair will then journey from the airport to the under-construction Motera Stadium – which is set to become the world’s largest cricket arena upon completion.
A 1,640-foot brick wall has been quickly erected close to the stadium ahead of Trump’s visit, with some saying it is being built to block the view of a slum area inhabited by more than 2,000 people.
It will shield the President as he arrives at the stadium to attend an event called ‘Namaste Trump,’ which translates to ‘Greetings, Trump.’
Indian senior government official Bijal Patel told the Associated Press the wall was built ‘for security reasons’ and not to conceal the slum.
‘Apart from security reasons, the wall is also part of a beautification and cleanliness drive,’ she said
Indian officials are hastily building a wall to reportedly shield President Trump from the sight of the nation’s infamous slums as he travels through Ahmedabad next Monday
A man applies finishing touches to paintings of U.S. President Donald Trump and India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Trump will drive past in a motorcade next Monday
Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold an event at the world’s largest cricket stadium in Ahmedabad next week (pictured)
Donald Trump is set to touch down in India next Tuesday, and claims 7 million people will be on hand to greet him
In a press conference on Tuesday, President Trump said he was excited about the visit.
‘We are not treated very well by India, but I happen to like the prime minister a lot,’ the president said.
‘He told me we will have 7 million people between the airport and the event. The stadium, I understand, is going semi-under construction, but it is going to be the largest stadium in the world. It’s going to be very exciting, but he says between the stadium and the airport, we will have about 7 million people. It’s going to be very exciting,’ Trump said.
American-Indian relations have been strained by trade disputes, which the president said he hopes to have worked out by November’s election.
1,640-foot brick wall has been quickly erected close to the stadium. Workers are seen constructing the wall last Thursday
Trump will journey along the road (left) in his motorcade, with the wall blocking out the sight of the slums just meters away
Parts of the wall have been painted with bright colors and completed with cheery slogans that mask the poverty that lies behind them
Indian residents of a slum near Sardar Patel Gujarat Stadium hold eviction notices served to them in Ahmedabad. They are furious their plight is being covered up by the wall
A man rides past a wall painted with portraits of U.S. President Donald Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi ahead of Trump’s visi
The trip will also allow him to appeal to the tens of thousands of Indian-American voters ahead of Election Day.
Trump, along with Melania Trump, will make his first visit to India next week where he will inaugurate the stadium, which has been undergoing construction.
The event will take place in Modi’s home base, which Trump is visiting at the prime minister’s invitation.
Tensions between the U.S. and India have increased since Trump levied tariffs on steel and aluminium from India.
India responded with higher tariffs on agricultural goods and restrictions on U.S. medical devices.
The Trump administration retaliated by removing India from a decades-old preferential trade program.
‘We could have a trade deal with India, but I’m really saving the big deal for later on. We’re doing a very big trade deal with India. We will have it,’ Trump said Tuesday. ‘I don’t know it will be done before the election, but we will have a very big deal with India.’
The ‘Namaste Trump’ event will happen at Motera Cricket Stadium
President Trump and Prime Minister Modi at last year’s ‘Howdy Modi’ summit in Houston