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Trump greeted Irish PM with namaste and so did Prince Charles who ditched handshake at a London event.
French President Emmanuel Macron greeted Spain’s King Felipe VI with namaste.
Netherlands Royals greeted with namaste on a state visit to Indonesia.
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Coronavirus pandemic, which has infected more than 130,000 people across the globe, has forced some Western key dignitaries to switch to Indian culture. Following the advice of WHO people are refraining from shaking hands and hugging each other; instead, they have switched to greeting everyone with ‘Namaste.’
President Donald Trump at a news conference on Thursday, greeted the visiting Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar with a ‘Namaste’.
Trump said, “I just got back from India, and I did not shake any hands there, and it was very easy because they go like this,” He joined his hands together to greet others. “They are ahead of the curve,” he added.
Prince Charles ditches handshake
With the rising number of cases of coronavirus in the UK, people are avoiding contact. And the Royal Family switched on to the Indian tradition.
At the annual Prince’s Trust Awards, Prince Charles was seen greeting people with a namaste at the London Palladium.
French President says Namaste to Spanish King Felipe VI
French President Emmanuel Macron welcomed Felipe VI, Spain’s king and queen with a namaste on Wednesday. He pressed his palms together and bowed slightly to pay his respects.
Israel PM Benjamin Netanyahu adopts ‘Namaste’
Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asked his countrymen to greet each other by folding hands and saying ‘Namaste’ instead of shaking hands.
The Israeli PM said small steps like this can help control the virus.
Dutch Royals greeted with Namaste in Indonesia
Credit: Menteri Luar/ Twitter.
During their own state visit to Indonesia the Netherlands Queen Maxima, and King Willem-Alexander refrained from shaking hands with the counterparts and greeted them with Namaste.
Queen Maxima was seen waving and keeping a polite distance with others during walkabouts in Yogyakarta. The king of Netherlands however was seen with hand clasped, accompanied by a small bow.