OBAMA AT INDIA

Obama and First Lady arrive in India and pay tribute to Gandhi
 

Honored: President Barack Obama throws rose petals as he pays his respects at Raj Ghat, the memorial for India's independence icon Mahatma Gandhi, in New Delhi on Sunday

 

 

 

Paying respects: The President gestures a traditional greeting at the memorial during the first full day of his three-day state visit to India

Friend of India: Mr Obama is the first American to visit India twice during his administration. Above, the president inspects an honor guard at the Indian Presidential Palace in new Dehli on Sunday

 

For democracy: The president will be the guest of honor at Monday's Republic Day festivities, which mark the anniversary of the country's democratic constitution 
 

Welcome: The president was greeted at India's presidential palace by a 21-gun salute from the honor guard. Mr Obama pictured above with Prime MInister Narendra Modi, left 
 

 'It's a great honor,' Obama said when reporters asked for his thoughts on attending Republic Day. 'We are so grateful for the extraordinary hospitality.'

Closer: U.S.-India relations have been strained in recent years, but have warmed considerably since Mr Modi was elected into office 
 

'It's a great honor,' Obama said when reporters asked for his thoughts on attending Republic Day. 'We are so grateful for the extraordinary hospitality.' 

While U.S.-India relations have been strained in recent years, those tensions have cooled thanks to the election of Mr Modi who has an easy rapport with the president. 

'Your election and your strong personal commitment to the US-India relationship gives us an opportunity to further energize these efforts,' the president said Sunday. 

'Barack and I have formed a bond, a friendship,' Mr Modi added. 'We can laugh and joke and talk easily on the phone. The chemistry that has brought Barack and me closer has also brought Washington and Delhi closer.'

Hug: Mr Obama and Mr Modi have an easy rapport, which has strengthened the relationship between their two countries. The two pictured hugging before a joint press conference on Sunday
 

Historical: Above, Mr Obama gives Mr Modi a copy of a 1950 telegram that Sec of State Dean Acheson sent to India's constitutional assembly, congratulating them on their new government

Progress: The President and Mr Modi quickly got to work resolving a long-standing issue on India's civil nuclear program Sunday. The U.S. promised to help the country develop a nuclear energy program in 2008, but it has made no progress since then due to concerns about liability. Above, the two presidents sit for tea after taking a walk through the gardens of Hyderabad House
 

Chatting: Also at a press conference on Sunday, Mr Obama addressed conflicts in eastern Ukraine and Yemen. The president and Prime MInister Modi pictured walking through the gardens of Hyderabad House

In memoriam: President Obama is accompanied by Union Minister Piyush Goyal, left, and other unidentified officials as he lays a wreath at Mahatma Gandhi's memorial

Minute's silence: Obama walked in his socks into a walled courtyard to lay a large white wreath at the site where Indian independence icon Gandhi was cremated

Embrace: President Barack Obama hugs India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi as he arrives at Air Force Station Palam in New Delhi ahead of a three-day state visit
 

Greeting: The Commander-in-Chief landed in New Delhi on Sunday for a highly symbolic visit and to nurture friendship with Modi, a prime minister who a year ago was persona non grata in Washington
 

Good to see you: India's Prime Minister Modi shakes hands with President Obama as first lady Michelle Obama looks on upon their arrival at Air Force Station Palam in New Delhi