New Delhi: At a time when the whole country is all set to welcome US President Donald Trump, Congress leader Anand Sharma on Sunday asserted that there are no positive indications that the high profile visit would bear any major outcomes.
“So far I do not have any positive indication of any major outcome. It will be a continuation of defence and security cooperation, and a reaffirmation of our cooperation in space and nuclear sciences. The meeting between the two leaders is ongoing and it will not be a new thing,” Sharma said.
The statement from the Congress comes a day ahead of US president and First Lady Melania Trump’s visit to India. The Trumps will be in India from February 24 to 25. “The visit is important in relation to the fact that the US is a major power, but that is all,” Sharma said.
Saying that there won’t be any trade agreement, Sharma said there won’t be the restoration of the GSP with all indications.
“By putting India in the bracket of developed countries list, the US would drastically cut down any of the access and even the H1B visas which were available to India as a developing country because the US has quotas. So let us see. Except for a helicopter deal, there appears nothing in the offing,” Sharma said.
Saying that all are waiting to see if there will be any outcome, Sharma said the talks on Pakistan are unlikely to come up during the meeting.
“US President Trump will give one message today and he will give another message tomorrow. He has done this in the past. Do not forget after the ‘Howdy, Modi’ event in Houston how he met Pakistan PM Imran Khan. So let us wait. They will not take an extreme position. They need Pakistan also for what they are doing in Afghanistan,” Sharma said.
Talking about the impact of Trump’s visit on China, Sharma said, “China is five times bigger than us. India is in no position to balance. The US has its own equations with China (which) one should not forget. They make noises but they reach agreements quickly. They have a trade agreement. Let us wait.”
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