Trump Jr. to give foreign policy speech on 'unofficial' business trip to India

By Reena Bhardwaj

Washington D.C. [United States], Feb 20 (ANI): United States President Donald Trump's eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., who is on an unofficial visit to India to promote his family's real estate projects, will also deliver a foreign policy speech on the Indo-Pacific relations at an event with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The junior Trump, who is on a week-long visit to India, will have a full schedule of meet-and-greets with investors and business leaders throughout the country where the Trump family has real estate projects - Kolkata, Mumbai, Pune and Gurugram.

Newspapers have been running full-page, glossy advertisements hyping his arrival and the latest Trump Tower project under the headline: "Trump is here - Are You Invited?" The ads also invited home buyers to plunk down a booking fee (about $38,000) to "join Mr Donald Trump Jr. for a conversation and dinner."

Public relations executives, working with two local developers arranging the Trump dinner, have declined to give specifics about the event.

During the visit, the 40-year-old Trump, the executive vice president of the Trump Organization, will take a break from his private promotional tour to give an address on "Reshaping Indo- Pacific Ties: The New Era of Cooperation" at a global business summit on Friday evening, co-sponsored by the newspaper Economic Times. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who will also be present, will speak at the summit on the topic of "Preparing India for the Future."

The senior Trump did not divest himself of his businesses when he was elected president. Rather, he turned the day-to-day operations over to his older sons, Don Jr. and Eric, to run.

Eric Trump told The Washington Post last year that "the company and policy and government are completely separated. We have built an unbelievable wall in between the two."

Watchdog groups disagree

"Trump's company is literally selling access to the president's son overseas," said Jordan Libowitz, the communications director for Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, which is frequently critical of the first family. "For many people wanting to impact American policy in the region, the cost of a condo is a small price to pay to lobby one of the people closest to the president, far away from watchful eyes."

Critics have often complained of the high cost of Secret Service agents accompanying the Trump children on private business trips, straining the agency's budget. The Trump Organization's spokesman did not return calls or emails requesting comment.

Amit Sharma, a spokesman for the Gurugram developer, said that they had sold apartments worth nearly almost $70 million since the Gurugram towers project launched in early January. The buildings, where flats run from $780,000 to $1.6 million, have private elevator service, in-residence catering and an indoor swimming pool.

Trump Jr.'s tour of India, Sharma said, is a chance to "celebrate the entire exercise."

Along with the Trump Tower Delhi NCR (National Capital Region) in Gurugram, projects include two residential towers Pune, towers in Mumbai and Kolkata, and a planned office tower in Gurugram.

The Trump Organization has more business entities in India than in any other foreign country, financial filings show, with licensing bringing in estimated payments of $1.6 million to $11 million since 2014.

Later this week, Trump Jr. will travel to Mumbai to open the demo unit at the golden-facade Trump Tower that's being built by the family development firm of Mangal Prabhat Lodha, a state legislator in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

That relationship has also sparked concern about potential conflict of interest. As with most of its foreign deals, the Trump family licenses its name to the projects, collecting hefty royalty fees but avoiding risky investments.

"Part of the deal was that Trump would come and do promotions every couple of years," said an employee of the Lodha Group, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to the media.

The election changed that, he said, meaning the kids now have to step in.

"Ideally we'd have preferred Ivanka," he said, referring to the president's eldest daughter, who is now an adviser to her father. "She has a better public image. But it makes sense for Donald Trump Junior to do it." (ANI)

This story has not been edited. It has been published as provided by ANI