india

Updated: Sep 15, 2019 15:50 IST

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is set to visit the US later this month, may have a surprise guest in US president Donald Trump at the former’s rally for Indian Americans in Houston.

An announcement to that effect is expected soon, says The Wire quoting sources. However, the report also cautioned that things may not go as planned given Trump’s penchant for surprises.

The report, however, speaks about an unprecedented political “joint venture”, which involves the likely announcement of a US-India trade deal at the same time, or a little before, with Modi and Trump celebrating together on September 22 at the “community summit” of Indian Americans.

Also read: Modi-Trump meet: Ties on track, but need care | Analysis

The political managers of the leaders of the two biggest democracies have apparently been in touch since Modi and Trump met in Biarritz, France on the sidelines of the G-7 Summit on August 26.

The bonhomie between the two leaders was on ample display with president Trump praising the Indian PM for his “good English” and Modi breaking out into a big smile and thumping Trump’s hand in delight.

For Trump, the issue of trade is a high priority, and this would have figured prominently in the talks. However, no details have been shared so far. The way to Trump’s heart seems to lie through trade.

“Howdy, Modi!”, the community event to be addressed by PM Modi, has been sold out with over 50,000 people registering for the programme, the organisers said.

“Howdy”, short for ‘How do you do?’, is a friendly greeting commonly used in southwestern United States.

The live audience will be the largest ever for an Indian Prime Minister in North America and also the largest for a foreign leader in the US other than Pope Francis.

Prime Minister Modi is scheduled to visit the US next month to attend the United Nations General Assembly on September 27, prior to which he will travel to Houston to meet the leading businesses, political and community leaders here in Houston, the fourth largest city with a population of over 130,000 Indian-Americans.

The summit, with the tagline of ‘Shared Dreams, Bright Futures’ will highlight the contributions of Indian-Americans to enrich the American life as well as the key role it has played in strengthening relations between the two nations.

This will be Modi’s third major address to the Indian-American community after he became the prime minister in 2014 and the first after his re-election in May.

The previous two were at the Madison Square Garden in New York in 2014 and the Silicon Valley in 2016. Both the events were attended by more than 20,000 people.