Gujarat CM Anandiben Patel reviews security at airport, Sabarmati Ashram
New Delhi : Prime Minister Narendra Modi will host a private dinner for Chinese President Xi Jinping on Sabarmati riverfront in Ahmedabad on September 17 when he begins his India visit.
According to official sources, the private dinner will be attended by limited number of guests from each side. There will be five persons from each side at the dinner which will not be very ostentatious, they said.
The Sabarmati riverfront was selected as a venue for the dinner as President Xi will be visiting Mahatma Gandhi’s Sabarmati Ashram near it.
The sources said that Xi, who is scheduled to arrive on September 17 afternoon in Gujarat, will leave for New Delhi soon after the dinner.
They said everything for Xi’s visit was being done “as per the protocol”, rejecting reports that there were elaborate arrangements for the dinner. Modi today tweeted, “On 17th, President Xi Jinping will be in Gujarat. We look forward to extending a warm welcome to him but there will be no birthday celebrations”. Modi will be turning 64 on September 17.
Meanwhile, Gujarat Chief Minister Anandi Patel on Sunday paid a visit to the Ahmedabad airport as well as the Sabarmati riverfront to take a stock of the preparations for Chinese President Xi Jinping’s one-day visit.
The chief minister first visited the Ahmedabad airport to review the preparations and security arrangements, an official press release said.
She later went to Sabarmati Ashram, where Xi is scheduled to visit. Thereafter she went to the riverfront park, where both the leaders will have dinner, said the release.
Patel gave her suggestions to the local administration for successful handling of the event.
