"His ceremonial speech which had been postponed last month in the middle of showdown over the funding in the budget for a border wall by Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat, had calls for unity across the political divide.It did not have any direct references to India or region, except for US negotiations with the Taliban in Afghanistan "to reach a political settlement in Afghanistan. ""My Administration is holding constructive talks with a number of Afghan groups, including the Taliban," he said. "As we make progress in these negotiations, we will be able to reduce our troop presence and focus on counter-terrorism," he said.But he added, "We do not know whether we will achieve an agreement, but we do know that after two decades of war, the hour has come to at least try for peace. "Another matter of relevance to India was on trade, when he asked for support for Reciprocal Trade Act. "If another country places an unfair tariff on an American product, we can charge them the exact same tariff on the same product that they sell to us," he said.

Source: Economic Times February 06, 2019 04:18 UTC