India’s invite to Trump not date specific, say govt sources

New Delhi: The invitation to United States President Donald Trump to visit India is not date-specific, said government sources on Thursday.

Earlier it was reported that India extended an invitation to the US President to be the special guest on the Republic Day function next year.

On August 2, US Press Secretary Sarah Sanders in a press briefing in Washington stated that no decision had been taken on the matter yet. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and US Secretary of Defense James N. Mattis, however, would be visiting India next month to start a “dialogue process and a potential discussion for a presidential visit later in the year.”

For the Republic Day function, the government invites a ‘head of a country’ to be the special guest.

Leaders from the 10 ASEAN nations — Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and Brunei – were chief guests at this year’s parade function.

Former US President Barack Obama has also been part of the celebrations and visited India in 2015 as the chief guest of the 65th Republic Day event. (ANI)