If all goes well, US president Donald Trump will make his first India visit in February 2020. However, the timing of Trump’s visit will depend on the duration of the Senate impeachment trial, which is expected to begin this week.

The last time a US president visited India was in 2015 when Barack Obama attended the Republic Day parade in Delhi as the chief guest. He had earlier visited India in 2010. George W Bush and Bill Clinton too had visited India while in office.

An invite to Trump to visit India was extended when Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Washington in June 2017. New Delhi’s invitation to the US president to visit India was repeated last month when defence minister Rajnath Singh and foreign minister S. Jaishankar called on Trump after a meeting with their US counterparts Mark Esper and Mike Pompeo for their second India-US “2+2″ dialogue.

We list down reasons why Trump visit is important for both the nations:

• India and the US look to seal a trade deal with limited scope ahead of US presidential polls. A trade deal with India and China can boost Trump’s prospects as he seeks re-election. New Delhi and Washington DC are expected to sign a trade deal pending since 2018, amid an economic slowdown in India.

• Trump’s visit will also boost the US administration’s support for India’s moves in Jammu and Kashmir. It comes at a time when Modi is facing flak from many over CAA.

• India is also hoping for Trump to revoke cancellation of India’s ‘Generalized System of Preference (GSP)’ status.

• The visit is expected to underline the close strategic partnership between the two countries popularly billed as the world’s oldest and largest democracies.