Trump struggles a bit with his pronunciation during speech at cricket stadium in India

Tens of thousands of people packed into a stadium in

western India to welcome U.S. President Donald Trump on

Monday as he began his first official visit to the country.

The receptive crowd mostly cheered the U.S. President

despite the latter's difficulty with the pronunciation of

several Indian names and phrases, including legendary

Indian cricket player Sachin Tendulkar and even the

pronunciation of "namaste."

#India

Trump said he looked forward to expanding space cooperation between the two nations, and said both sides were at the early stages of reaching an "incredible" trade agreement.

India and the United States have built close political and security ties and Trump's two-day trip is a sign of their converging interests and a way to counter China's rise as a superpower, officials say.