United States President George W Bush [Images], accompanied by First Lady Laura Bush, left Washington, DC for India and Pakistan on a five-day trip.

Bush -- seen taking a helicopter to Andrews Air Base -- boarded Air Force One at around 1.45 pm local time (0000 IST) on Tuesday after a meeting at the White House with Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi [Images].

He will reach New Delhi [Images] at about 1915 on Wednesday evening.

This is the American president's first trip to the sub-continent

Photograph: Courtesy The White House