ion-datetime - set date without datepicker IONIC 3

Question

I am using with the built-in datepicker to create an event. I would like to be able to dynamically set a date from another page, just like below using NavParams

<ion-datetime #dateTime displayFormat="DD MMM YYYY" pickerFormat="DD MMM YYYY" [(ngModel)]="date" ></ion-datetime>

I have tried as follows:

The AddTaskPage page is displayed from the CalendarPage

1- calendar.ts

 add(){
    this.navCtrl.push(AddTask, {'date': this.selected})
    console.log("AddTask")
  }

2 - add-task.ts I pass the date using NavParams

export class AddTask {

  remindTimes = [10, 30, 60, 120, 160, 1440];
  locations: Location[] = [];
  title:string
  date:any
  selectedDate:string
  reminder:any
  isChecked:boolean = false
  @Output() saveItem = new EventEmitter<any>();
  @ViewChild('dateTime') addDateTime;

  constructor(
    public navCtrl: NavController,
    public navParams: NavParams,
    public popCtrl: PopoverController,
    private dataService: DataServiceProvider
  ) { 
    if(this.navParams.get('date')) {

       this.date =  new Date(this.navParams.get('date'))
       this.selectedDate = moment(this.date).format('DD MMM YYYY');

       console.log(`date selected: ${this.date}`)
       console.log(`date selected: ${this.selectedDate}`)

    } 
  }

3- [(ngModel)]="date"

I am using [(ngModel)] to update the UI (the Start date)

this is not possible to set date unless the date is selected with the datepicker.

Has anyone been able to force the directive to display a date dynamically from an object and not from the datepicker ? Any thoughts?

Thanks