India, US lawmakers to hold first exchange visit in April

In a first, lawmakers from the United States and India lawmakers will hold an exchange visit this April, US Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary (PDAS), Alice Wells said on Thursday.

"#USIndia ppl-2-ppl ties are stronger than ever. Our Congressional reps and Parliamentarians will hold an exchange visit for 1st time ever in April. We're working together to support human spaceflight & eager to welcome more Indian higher ed students to the US," State SCA (the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs) tweeted.

This comes days after US President Donald Trump's first official visit to India.

Wells said that Trump's visit to India has advanced shared goals and paved the way for further cooperation in key areas like energy, defence, people-to-people ties.

"Excellent progress made this week in #USIndia partnership. @POTUS's trip to #India advanced shared goals and paved the way for further cooperation in key areas like energy, defense, people-to-people ties and #IndoPacific coordination," she said.

"We made great strides to advance #USIndia energy partnership, including taking steps to develop #India's Strategic Petroleum Reserve & provide $600M in @DFCgov investment to develop solar & wind energy," she added.

Over the course of his nearly-36-hour-long trip, that commenced on Monday, the US President participated in a host of engagements including a roadshow, addressing a mammoth crowd at the 'Namaste Trump' event at Ahmedabad, visited the Taj Mahal and held delegation-level talks.

During the visit, India and the United States further strengthened their defense cooperation, with the two countries giving a nod to an agreement under which India will get USD 3 billion of advanced military equipment including Apache and MH-60 Romeo helicopters.

Trump has described his India visit as "great" and "very successful."

Wells said that India and the US together defend the sovereignty of both nations and protect a free and open Indo-Pacific region for both our peoples.

"As @POTUS announced, we concluded over US $3B in defense sales to provide our finest military helicopters to Indian Armed Forces. We're proud to be #India's premier defense partner. Together, we defend our sovereignty & protect a free & open #IndoPacific region for both our peoples," PDAS said.