US President Barack Obama Leaves for India with Wife Michelle

Washington, DC: US President Barack Obama, accompanied by wife Michelle, has left for his three-day visit to India from the Andrews Air Force base.

The US President is coming to India on the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He is expected to land on Sunday at 10 am in Delhi on Air Force One. The state visit will begin with a ceremonial welcome by President Pranab Mukherjee at Rashtrapati Bhavan. The PM and Mr Obama will then move to Hyderabad House to hold bilateral talks.

The Prime Minister will host a lunch during which the delegation talks will continue. That evening, the leaders will meet at President Pranab Mukherjee's banquet.

On January 26, Mr Obama will be the guest of honour at the Republic Day parade. He will be seated with the PM and President Mukherjee in a special bulletproof enclosure.

On Monday, the PM and President Obama will jointly address top industrialists in an event organised by the US-India Business Council.

Mr Obama will also appear on a 'special edition' of 'Mann ki Baat', the PM's radio show where he addresses the nation directly.

After attending the Republic Day parade on January 26 as chief guest, President Obama was earlier scheduled to go to Agra with family and visit the iconic Taj Mahal.

But the US President has cancelled plans to visit the Taj Mahal; he is cutting short his visit to India to fly to Saudi Arabia following the death of King Abdullah.

Saudi Arabia is a longstanding US ally and the world's leading oil exporter.

In an official statement, the White House said President Obama "regrets" the cancellation of the trip.

"The President regrets that he will be unable to visit Agra during this trip," it said.

"Yes, I can confirm that Obama's trip to Agra has been cancelled. This information was given by the US Team that was here, to the district Magistrate of Agra," Agra Commissioner Pradeep Bhatnagar said. Uttar Pradesh's Principal Secretary Navneet Sehgal said that American security team has left Agra.