Obama to visit India in January: White House

The US president is scheduled to attend the Indian Republic Day as a chief guest; will meet Modi, Indian officials too

United States President Barack Obama, on the invitation of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, will “travel to India in January 2015 to participate in the Indian Republic Day,” according to a statement issued by the White House.

Obama will participate in the celebration as a chief guest in New Delhi, and the visit will “mark the first time a US president will have the honour of attending” the celebration.

Further, the US president is scheduled to meet with the Indian prime minister and other Indian officials to “expand the US-India strategic partnership”.

Obama's trip follows up on a visit to Washington in September by Modi, courted by the United States as a key partner in its attempt to rebalance US foreign policy toward Asia

Modi met Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and other key US officials at the White House for a private dinner, ahead of formal talks in the Oval Office during his visit in September.

Both nations issued a joint “vision statement” promising that their “strategic partnership” would work to combat terror threats, respond to humanitarian disasters, prevent the spread of weapons of mass destruction, as well as “mitigate” the impact of climate change.

Indian American activists have pressed for years to rehabilitate the image of Modi, who was denied a visa to the United States in 2005 on human rights grounds over anti-Muslim riots in his home state of Gujarat.

Modi denied wrongdoing and his charge over violence that killed more than 1,000 people.