Hello
The President and the First Lady first day in Asia under the cut.
Before getting into the $64723467347671 billion trip - accompanied by 7868 war ships and 987 space ships, including the Enterprise - it's only fair to ask What The Fuck Obama Has Done So Far?
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President Obama left yesterday for a 10 days trip in Asia - He'll visit India, Indonesia, South Korea and Japan. Today the president himself detailed his targets over the next 10 days in this NYT Op-Ed
...We want to be known not just for what we consume, but for what we produce. And the more we export abroad, the more jobs we create in America. In fact, every $1 billion we export supports more than 5,000 jobs at home.
It is for this reason that I set a goal of doubling America’s exports in the next five years. To do that, we need to find new customers in new markets for American-made goods. And some of the fastest-growing markets in the world are in Asia, where I’m traveling this week.
It is hard to overstate the importance of Asia to our economic future. Asia is home to three of the world’s five largest economies, as well as a rapidly expanding middle class with rising incomes. My trip will therefore take me to four Asian democracies — India, Indonesia, South Korea and Japan — each of which is an important partner for the United States. I will also participate in two summit meetings — the Group of 20 industrialized nations and Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation — that will focus on economic growth.
During my first visit to India, I will be joined by hundreds of American business leaders and their Indian counterparts to announce concrete progress toward our export goal — billions of dollars in contracts that will support tens of thousands of American jobs. We will also explore ways to reduce barriers to United States exports and increase access to the Indian market.
Indonesia is a member of the G-20. Next year, it will assume the chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations — a group whose members make up a market of more than 600 million people that is increasingly integrating into a free trade area, and to which the United States exports $80 billion in goods and services each year. My administration has deepened our engagement with Asean, and for the first eight months of 2010, exports of American goods to Indonesia increased by 47 percent from the same period in 2009. This is momentum that we will build on as we pursue a new comprehensive partnership between the United States and Indonesia...
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The Schedule:
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Sunday, Nov. 7: President Obama visits a school in Mumbai and participates in Diwali celebrations and conduct a town hall with university students.
President Obama’s entourage will then move to New Delhi. He’ll visit Hymayan’s tomb. At night, he’ll have a private dinner with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his wife.
Monday, Nov. 8: President Obama will start the day with a wreath-laying at Gandhi’s grave. He’ll have a bilateral meeting with the prime minister, followed by a press conference. In the afternoon, he’ll address Indian parliament. And at night there is a state dinner.
Tuesday, Nov. 9: President Obama will kick off the Indonesia portion of his trip by meeting Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in Jakarta, then attending an official dinner that night.
Wednesday, Nov. 10: The president will celebrate "Hero’s Day," an Indonesian holiday commemorating the Battle of Surabaya, in which Indonesian soldiers fought British and Dutch troops for independence in 1945.
President Obama will lay a wreath at the Heroes Cemetery in Jakarta and then visit the Istiqlal Mosque, the largest mosque in southeast Asia. After that, he’ll go to an outside site to be determined to make a speech.
Then President Obama leaves for Seoul in South Korea.
Thursday, Nov. 11: President Obama begins his day by commemorating Veterans Day, speaking to American troops at Yongsan Garrison in Seoul. It’s also the 60th anniversary of the Korean War, so he’ll pay tribute to all of those who served, as well as progress that Korea has made since the beginning of the war.
Next, he’ll go into a bilateral meeting with President Lee Myung-bak at Blue House. Lee will host a working lunch, followed by a press conference.
Then he will meet with President Hu Jintao of China, their seventh bilateral.
The G-20 working dinner will be that night in Seoul at the National Museum.
Friday, Nov. 12: The official G-20 program starts with a morning plenary session, a family photo, a working lunch and an afternoon plenary session.
At the close of the G-20, President Obama will hold a press conference.
President Obama then leaves for Japan.
Saturday, Nov. 13: In Yokohama, President Obama will begin his day giving remarks to the CEO Business Summit as part of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meetings.
Next he’ll have a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Naoto Kan of Japan and a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Julia Gillard of Australia.
The APEC program will start with a working lunch and then a leaders’ retreat. At night, there’s an official APEC dinner.
Sunday, Nov. 14: President Obama will have a bilateral meeting with President Dmitry Medvedev of Russia.
The APEC program will finish with a leaders’ retreat and a working lunch.
President Obama will visit the Great Buddha statue in nearby Yokohama, a place he visited as a child.
In the afternoon, President Obama and The First Lady return to the United States.
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Obama announces $10 billion in trade deals with India
President Barack Obama announced a host of new trade deals with India supporting tens of thousands of U.S. jobs Saturday as he began a 10-day trip through Asia on a determinedly domestic note.
Intent on demonstrating his attention to the sluggish U.S. economy even while overseas, Obama also told a meeting of U.S. and Indian executives that the U.S. would relax some export regulations that have complicated trade between America and this fast-growing country of 1.2 billion people.
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Obama unveils major deals on 'job fair' India visit
MUMBAI (AFP) – President Barack Obama announced Saturday 10 billion dollars in trade deals with India to create 50,000 US jobs, on a visit that began with an emotional tribute to victims of the 2008 Mumbai attacks.Kicking off a four-nation Asian tour weighted towards prying open new markets for US goods, Obama also said he would relax technology export restrictions imposed after India's nuclear tests back in 1998.
"As we look to India today, the United States sees an opportunity to sell our exports in one of the fastest growing markets in the world," he told an audience of US and Indian businessmen in financial the hub of Mumbai.
"For America this is a jobs' fair. As we recover from this recession we are determined to rebuild our economy on a stronger foundation for growth," he added.
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Universities Tag Along With Obama to India to Set Up Ties
Yale University and Duke University are among dozens of U.S. colleges that India is recruiting to help educate its population with more than 550 million people under age 25.
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President Barack Obama will make a three-day state visit to India, accompanied by U.S. university officials eager to strengthen their ties to the country. Institutions want to "get in on the ground floor" as India’s economy and education system mature and the nation becomes a global power, said Dipesh Chakrabarty, a University of Chicago history professor who is leading the university’s efforts to plan a research center in New Delhi, India’s capital.
Representatives of Boston University, Arizona State University in Tempe, and Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey, are part of the delegation of academic and business leaders. The group was organized by the U.S.-India Business Council, a Washington-based lobbying group. Obama is scheduled to attend their business summit tomorrow, in Mumbai. During their visit, university officials will lobby for a bill pending before the Indian legislature that would allow foreign schools to open branches in the country for the first time.
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To see videos and non-stop cover by Indian TV, just go here. And rediff special coverage is here.
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All these by AP:
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President Obama and first lady Michelle Obama pay tribute at the memorial for the Nov. 26, 2008 terror attack victims at the Taj Mahal Palace and Tower Hotel in Mumbai.
President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama's note left in the guest book after viewing the 26/11 Memorial at the Taj Mahal Palace and Tower Hotel in Mumbai on November 6, 2010.
"We will always remember the events of 26/11; not only the sorrow, but also the courage and humanity that was displayed that day. The United States stands in solidarity with all of Mumbai and all of India in working to eradicate the scourge of terrorism, and we affirm our lasting friendship with the Indian people."
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Messages from the Preisdent and the First Lady pictured in the visitors book during their tour through the Mani Bhavan Gandhi Museum in Mumbai on November 6.
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President Obama waves through a service door as he jokes with photographers before coming onstage to speak at the U.S.-India Business Council and Entrepreneurship Summit in Mumbai, Saturday, Nov. 6,
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President Obama speaks at the US-India Business Council and Entrepeneurship Summit at the Trident Hotel in Mumbai.
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First lady Mitchelle Obama interacts with students and volunteers from the Make A Difference (MAD) NGO, at the Mumbai University campus in Mumbai on November 6, 2010.
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Indian micro-artist Ramesh Sah, 47, and the nail of his thumb.
