The much-anticipated
visit by US President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle to Agra to view
the Taj Majal has been cancelled and the US first couple would instead
head to Riyadh to condole the passing away of Saudi King Abdullah bin
Abdulaziz, the White House said Saturday.
Obama and Michelle
"will travel to Riyadh Tuesday in order to pay respects to King Salman
bin Abdulaziz and the family of the late king Abdullah bin Abdulaziz",
the White House said.
Obama arrives in India Sunday on a three-day visit. He was to visit Agra Jan 27.
White
House press secretary Josh Earnest said in a statement that Vice
President Joe Biden was "originally to have led a delegation to Saudi
Arabia on the president's behalf".
"As the president's and vice
president's travel schedules became clearer, we determined that the
window when the vice president would be on the ground in Riyadh
coincided with the president's departure from India.
"Accordingly,
we adjusted the schedule in coordination with the Indian government so
that the president would be able to depart India following his speech
Tuesday to stop in Riyadh during the return trip to meet with King
Salman and other Saudi officials and offer his condolences on behalf of
the American people."
The White House said Obama "regrets that he will be unable to visit Agra during this trip".
"The vice president will remain in Washington," the statement added.
On
Jan 27, Obama will give a talk at Siri Fort in New Delhi on the subject
"India and America: The future we can build together", before flying to
Riyadh in the afternoon.
During their 2010 visit, Obama and
Michelle had gone to Mumbai where the US president had also held a
Townhall type of talk with students.
Agra District Magistrate Pankaj Kumar confirmed to reporters the cancellation of Obama's visit to Agra.
An official said advance teams of the US Secret Service and other officials have returned from Agra.
Obama was to fly to Agra on the last day of his visit Tuesday and spend an hour at the Taj Mahal before flying back to the US.
"The
US first lady and the president both were keen to visit Taj...
specially since they were unable to do so in 2010, but the plan has now
been cancelled," an official privy to the visit confirmed to IANS in
Agra.
Due to the weather, an alternative way via the Yamuna Expressway was also being contemplated.
But
due to the seasonal fog, the US Secret Service was reportedly not keen
to take the two-hour long Yamuna Expressway route from New Delhi to
Agra.
As part of the stringent security in place for the visit,
the Agra authorities had decided to shut down mobile services for three
hours during the time the Obamas would come calling and electronic
jammers were to be put in operation.
Besides the hundreds of
security personal fanning out in the area, the authorities were also
planning to shut down schools near the Taj Jan 27.
The stretch of
road from the airport to the Taj, roughly 12 km, was planned to be made
out of bounds for locals two hours before and after the visit.
US President Barack Obama, accompanied by wife Michelle, left for his
India visit from the Andrews Air Force base in Maryland Saturday, media
reported.
He is expected to reach India early Sunday and will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi later at Hyderabad House.
He will be the chief guest at India's Republic Day celebrations Jan 26.
Obama had earlier visited India in 2010.
As President Barack Obama headed to India the White House called it a
"genuine honour" and said he was very interested in injecting a new
energy and vitality into the US-India relationship.
"The
President is very much looking forward to this visit. It is a genuine
honour to be invited as the guest for Republic Day" and Obama "is
looking forward to see the festivities associated with Republic Day
firsthand," his press secretary said Friday.
"We've got many
colorful descriptions about the parade and other festivities that go
along with marking this important day," Josh Earnest said. "The
President is looking forward to seeing it firsthand."
Obama, who
will be the first US president to visit India twice while in office, was
also looking forward to a series of serious meetings with political
leaders in India, and certainly the one with Prime Minister Narendra
Modi, he told reporters Friday.
Obama, Earnest said, "certainly
enjoyed the conversation" that he had with Prime Minster Narendra Modi
when the latter visited Washington in September.
"I think he does
see an opportunity to build a strong working relationship not just
between our two countries, but between the two leaders who do share sort
of a common sense of purpose and vitality," he said.
While Modi
is very interested in injecting that kind of energy and vitality into
the relationship between the US and India, "Obama shares that desire,"
he said.
"Making the first ever second trip by a US President to
India during his presidency I think reflects the President's commitment
to India, the Indian people, and the relationship between the US and
India," Earnest said.
Asked about Modi's "Make in India" call,
the spokesman said there is an important economic component to the
policy agenda in India.
There will be a number of US business
leaders who will be traveling to India in conjunction with the
President's visit, and that is because there are tremendous economic
opportunities for American businesses in India," he said,
"And we are interested in strengthening those ties, both for the benefit of the Indian people."
"But
he's the American President and he's most interested in strengthening
those ties to benefit the American people," Earnest said.
"And
certainly the opportunity -- the business opportunity that exists in
India serves as a good opportunity to do exactly that."
(Arun Kumar can be contacted at [email protected])
