Aids guard the President’s time jealously and zealously, especially around international travel. So a good indicator of what is important to him is the amount of time and the number of trips taken to a given country.
By February 2015, President Obama will have made two trips each to India and China. His first trip to India in 2010, also marked the longest stay in any overseas nation (three nights). In November 2014, Obama visited Beijing, China but he was attending the multilateral APEC Summit. On January 26, 2015, he becomes the first American President to be the Chief Guest at India’s Republic Day celebrations.
Among the other BRIC countries, Obama has travelled to Brazil just once, and Russia twice (once for G20 summit). His most frequent visits have been to France and Mexico, five times each. Also he has been to Afghanistan, South Korea and the United Kingdom four times each and three times each to Germany and Japan. We may see more international travel from him after January 2015, but he is unlikely to visit China or India again while he is President.
Last updated: October 26th, 2022
