‘Namaste’ from Canada, Justin Trudeau arrives in New Delhi

New Delhi, February 18: Respecting the Indian tradition and following the rituals, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau bowed his head down, joined his hands and said ‘Namaste’ after he reached New Delhi on Saturday night. Notably, Canadian PM Justin Trudeau is on a 7 days long visit to India in a bid to strengthening ties between the two nations. 

Canadian PM Justin Trudeau, on his maiden visit to India, arrived New Delhi with his family and business delegation. As soon as PM Justin Trudeau reached New Delhi, he and his family adopting the Indian culture bowed down their heads, joined their hands and said ‘Namaste’ to not only Indian officials but to the whole country.

In response to the ‘Namaste’ of Justin Trudeau, Indian External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar also welcomed Candain PM with ‘Namaste’. He took to a twitter saying, “Strategic partnership underpinned by shared values of democracy and pluralism! Namaste to the Right Honorable @JustinTrudeau, Prime Minister of Canada as he arrives on the State visit to India from 17-24 February 2018.”

On the airport, India's High Commissioner to Canada Vikas Swarup, Union Minister of State for Agriculture Gajendra Singh Shekhawat along with Indian officials received Canadian PM Justin Trudeau and business delegation.

This is not for the first time when Canadian PM Justin Trudeau was caught following Indian tradition. In the month of October last year, during Diwali festival, going beyond all rituals, Canadian PM Justin Trudeau celebrated Diwali with five ministers.

The warm gesture of Trudeau became more vibrant as he pulled off Indian attire Sherwani perfectly during the occasion. He lit the ceremonial lamp and wished the Indian Diaspora a happy Diwali. Indian community not only got the company of Canadian PM Trudeau but also the Chief Justice of Canada and the distinguished judges of the Canadian Supreme Court were present.

Importantly, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is on his maiden visit to India. From Sunday he will start his official visits. He will visit the one of the eight wonders of the world, Taj Mahal. On February 21, the Trudeau will travel to Amritsar where he will visit the Golden Temple and return to Delhi on the same day. He will also visit Mumbai, Ahmadabad.

A number of Trudeau's cabinet colleagues including Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland, Science and Economic Development Minister Navdeep Bains, Defence Minister Harjit Singh Sajjan, Science and Sports Minister Kirsty Duncan and Infrastructure Minister Amarjeet Sohi are also visiting India.

The visit is aimed at further strengthening bilateral relations between the two countries in key areas of mutual interest including trade and investment, energy, science and innovation, higher education, infrastructure development, skill development and space. Cooperation in security and counter-terrorism, as well as the exchange of views on global and regional issues of mutual interest, will also form important components of the visit.