US President Barack Obama’s itinerary includes back-to-back visits to India, South Korea and Japan. He is scheduled to visit Seoul for the G-20 Summit on November 11 and 12. He then travels to Japan for the Apec summit on November 13 and 14.
What is also not yet certain is whether Mr Obama will follow Mr Bush and Mr Clinton in visiting Hyderabad or whether he will opt for Bengaluru. What is a certainty, though, is a visit to the Taj Mahal with his family. Mr Obama is no stranger to the Indian subcontinent. He has made no secret of his admiration for Mahatma Gandhi and fascination for Lord Hanuman, whose idol he carried
as a lucky charm during his presidential campaign. Mr Obama has nominated his friend, former room-mate and fundraiser Vinai Thummalapally as the US ambassador to the Central American nation of Belize.
Bill Burton, an Obama aide who is currently White House deputy press secretary, has been reported as saying that Mr Obama visited India (Hyderabad) and Pakistan in 1981. Mr Obama has recalled spending about three weeks in Pakistan, travelling with his Pakistani college friend and visiting Karachi and Larkana in Sindh province.
Also vying for Mr Obama’s attention will be another Asian country, Indonesia. The Indonesians are disappointed Mr Obama has had to cancel his visit twice already, but it is not certain whether he will indeed travel there in November this year, particularly after US secretary of state Hillary Clinton has said that the US President expressed interest in participating in the East Asia Summit in Jakarta.