Clinton arriving on March 20, will visit Mumbai too

Clinton arriving on March 20, will visit Mumbai too
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE

NEW DELHI, FEBRUARY 1: The suspense over United States President Bill Clinton's visit to the subcontinent ended today with the Ministry of External Affairs announcing that he will arrive in New Delhi on March 20 on a five-day trip.

The details of Clinton's itinerary are being worked out but he is expected to stay in Delhi for two days during which he will hold talks with President K R Naryanan and Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee.

The US President will also visit two business capitals, Mumbai and either Bangalore or Hyderabad. He will also throw in a tourist trip to Jaipur and Agra. Economics will be a major focus with both sides dwelling on ways to enhance trade and commercial ties. Clinton's visits to Mumbai and one of the business centre in the South will lay the foundation for this.

Official circles said in addition, they were examining the possibility of Clinton addressing a joint session of Parliament. Since both Houses will be in recess when he comes, the Government has to study thefeasibility of the proposal to ensure a proper welcome and full attendance.

The MEA spokesman refused to comment on the likelihood of a stopover by Clinton in Islamabad despite strong Indian objections. However, the Government has decided to take a pragmatic view and will not allow a halt in Pakistan to come in the way of furthering Indo-US ties.

The expectation here is that Clinton will do a brief trip to Islamabad either on his way to New Delhi or on his way back to the US (after a state visit to Bangladesh). For security reasons, the US President is unlikely to make a night halt in Pakistan.

With a Clinton visit to Islamabad on the anvil, the Indian side is in no mood to make concessions on the nuclear issue by officially agreeing to sign the CTBT.