12-member official delegation to accompany US President Donald Trump

Additional bilateral meeting participants include:

WASHINGTON/NEW DELHI: Spectacle, pageantry, and photo-ops in Ahmedabad and Agra on Monday aside, US President Donald Trump will not hold back from raising delicate issues such as respect for religious minorities, India-Pakistan ties, and contentious trade matters when it comes to the business end of things in New Delhi on Tuesday.Previewing Trump’s 34-hour State visit to India starting in Ahmedabad on Monday, senior US administration officials told journalists that the overarching purpose of the visit though is to illustrate the strength of US-India ties.“The President is going to India as a demonstration of the strong and enduring ties between our two countries. These are ties based on shared democratic traditions, common strategic interests, and enduring bonds between our people,” one official said, adding, “this has been exemplified by the very close relationship between the President and Prime Minister Modi.”The US President and First Lady Melania Trump will be accompanied by a high-powered delegation that will include Trump’s daughter Ivanka Trump and son Jared Kushner , both advisors to the President, besides three cabinet officials – commerce secretary Wilbur Ross and Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette, and National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien -- and other top officials such as chief of staff Mick Mulvaney and newly married (this past week) senior advisor Stephen Miller .The strength and depth of the delegation belies the lack of immediate deliverables from the visit, including the much talked about trade deal, although officials indicated some hefty commercial agreements are on the cards.The officials were candid about the growing differences between the two sides on the trade front notwithstanding strategic convergences, saying recent announcements on Make in India program have made the protectionism concerns in India even greater and this would certainly come up for discussion between the two leaders.“Whether or not there will be announcement on a trade package is, really, wholly dependent upon what the Indians are prepared to do,” the official said, putting the onus squarely on New Delhi for the trade talks quagmire that has resulted in failure to sew up a deal in time for the visit. “We've seen India's budget process recently used to raise tariffs on products of interest in the United States. We continue to see important divergences on e-commerce and digital trade. So it's a pretty wide scope, frankly, of important service and goods access barriers that we need to address,” the official added.In the same spirit of candor the US President will also talk about “our shared tradition of democracy and religious freedom both in his public remarks and then certainly in private,” the officials said in the context of issues such as the national citizens registry, adding that “we have great respect for India's democratic traditions and institutions, and we will continue to encourage India to uphold those traditions.”Asked if Trump would offer to mediate on the Kashmir issue as he has done several times, the official eschewed any mention of Kashmir but said “what you'll hear from the President is very much encouraging a reduction in tensions between India and Pakistan, encouraging the two countries to engage in bilateral dialogue with each other to resolve their differences.”However, the official said, the US continues to believe a “core foundation of any successful dialogue between the two countries is based on continued momentum in Pakistan's efforts to crack down on terrorists and extremists on its territory… So we continue to look for that.”Notwithstanding wrinkles in trade and differing perceptions on what New Delhi believes is its domestic prerogatives on issues of nationality and citizenship, the officials emphasized broader strategic convergences, particularly with reference to defense and security cooperation to both fight terrorism and promote a free and open Indo-Pacific.“The US wants an India that is strong, with a capable military that supports peace, stability, and a rules-based order in the Indo-Pacific region. Indeed, India is a pillar of our Indo-Pacific strategy, and we continue to work together to promote this vision of a free and open international system based on market economics, good governance, freedom of the seas and skies, and respect for sovereignty. And our shared vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific really goes to the heart of what binds our two countries together, and this is our shared democratic systems that place a premium on citizen-centric governments,” the official said.Ambassador Ken Juster, the United States Ambassador to IndiaSecretary Wilbur Ross, of Commerce DepartmentSecretary Dan Brouillette, of the Energy DepartmentMick Mulvaney, Assistant to the President and Acting Chief of StaffNational Security Advisor Robert O’BrienIvanka Trump, Assistant to the President and Advisor to the PresidentJared Kushner, Assistant to the President and Senior Advisor to the PresidentStephen Miller, Assistant to the President and Senior Advisor for PolicyDan Scavino, Assistant to the President and Senior Advisor for Digital StrategyLindsay Reynolds, Assistant to the President and Chief of Staff to the First LadyRobert Blair, Assistant to the President and Special Representative for International Telecommunication Policy and Senior Advisor to the Chief of StaffStephanie Grisham, Assistant to the President and Press Secretary and Director of Communications for the President and First LadyAdam Boehler, Chief Executive Officer of the U.S. International Development Finance CorporationAjit Pai, Chairman of the FCCLisa Curtis, Deputy Assistant to the President for South and Central Asian AffairsMr. Kash Patel, Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for CounterterrorismAnd finally, Mr. Mike Passey, Director for India, National Security Council