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Obama Arrives in India for Start of Asia Tour

   VOA News 06 November 2010
   U.S.  President  Barack  Obama,  second left, is greeted by Indian and
   U.S. officials after arriving in Mumbai, India, Saturday, 06 Nov 2010

Photo: AP

   U.S.  President  Barack  Obama,  second left, is greeted by Indian and
   U.S. officials after arriving in Mumbai, India, 06 Nov 2010

   U.S.  President  Barack  Obama is in India, the first stop on a 10-day
   tour of Asia, focused on boosting economic ties.
   President  Obama  arrived  in  India's financial center, Mumbai, early
   Saturday.
   He will also travel to Indonesia, South Korea and Japan.
   In  India,  President  Obama  will  meet  with government officials to
   discuss trade and cooperation in counter-terrorism.
   U.S.  National  Security Adviser Tom Donilon told reporters on the way
   to  Mumbai  that  India  is "a cornerstone relationship for the United
   States." Â
   President Obama and his wife, Michelle, will stay in Mumbai at the Taj
   Mahal hotel, one of the targets of the November 2008 terrorist attacks
   that  killed  166 people. Mr. Obama is expected to meet with survivors
   and pay tribute at a permanent memorial to those who died.
   He  also  will  meet  with  U.S.  and  Indian  business leaders.  The
   president  told  reporters  Thursday the region is one of "the fastest
   growing  markets  in  the  world,"  and  his  goal is to open up those
   markets to sell U.S. goods and create jobs

   Mr.  Obama's  stay in India will be the longest time he has spent in a
   foreign country since taking office.
   After  India,  Mr.  Obama  will visit Indonesia, where he lived during
   part  of his childhood, then travel to Seoul for the summit of leaders
   of the world's 20 biggest economies.
   The  president is expected to raise the issue of China's tight control
   of  its  currency, which many lawmakers and business leaders say makes
   Chinese  goods  cheaper  to  sell on the world markets.  Mr. Obama is
   also  hoping to announce progress on the long-stalled U.S.-South Korea
   free trade agreement. Â
   President  Obama  is  undertaking  his  trip  to  Asia  days after his
   Democratic  Party  suffered  a  heavy  defeat in midterm congressional
   elections,  losing control of the House of Representatives and several
   seats in the Senate.

   Some information for this report provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.
   

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