NEW DELHI: US President Donald Trump and Leo A. Varadkar, the Prime Minister of Ireland greeted each other with a Namaste at the White House in Washington on March 12.
The heads of the countries demonstrated the Namaste greeting after reporters asked them how did they greet each other.
"I just got back from India. And I did not shake any hands there. And it's very easy, because they go like this," Trump said. The US President also showed the way Japanese people greet. "They (India and Japan) were ahead of the curve," he said. Amid coronavirus scare, the Indian form of Namaste has gone quite popular among dignitaries around the world.
A video of Prince Charles greeting people with "Namaste" during Prince's Trust Awards in London had gone viral on social media.
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu while giving a briefing on coronavirus preparedness in Israel said that one of the best ways to prevent the infection is to avoid a handshake at any cost. The best way is to do a Namastey which is the Indian way.
He also demonstrated at the press conference how Indians do ‘Namaste’.
“Just avoid shaking hands as I do. You can try to implement the Indian system of Namaste or say another word like shalom, but find a way, any way of not shaking hands,” he said.
Top Indian shuttler PV Sindhu will not be shaking hands during All England Open Badminton Championships in Birmingham and use the traditional ‘Namaste’ greeting instead following the coronavirus outbreak, the 24-year-old had said.
For a fact, Irish PM Leo A. Varadkar was in India last year to trace his Marathi roots. For the first time, he fulfilled his 80-year-old father, Ashok Varadkar’s desire to visit Varad village, around 525 kms south of Mumbai, close to the Goa border.
As per his wishes, there were no VIP trappings or security or protocol or officialdom for the visiting leader and he roamed around casually, in jeans and shirt, smiling and greeting the village folk, with a ‘namaste’ and hearty handshakes.
Leo Varadkar inaugurated a proposed “Madhukar V. Varadkar & Manohar V. Varadkar Memorial Sports, Arts & Cultural Centre”, set up by Sanskrita Foundation, in memory of his uncles and Indian freedom fighters.