U.S. Vice-President Vance’s visit will further boost bilateral ties: India

U.S. Vice-President J.D. Vance and second lady Usha Vance. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters

India on Thursday (April 17, 2025) said it is “very positive” that the upcoming visit of U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance will give “further boost” to the India-U.S. bilateral ties and “all relevant issues” will be on the table.

Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal made the comments while indicating that issues relating to trade and tariff will figure during Vance’s talks with Indian leaders.

Mr. Vance is scheduled to pay a four-day visit to India beginning April 21 during which he will hold talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi that are expected to focus on an early finalisation of the proposed bilateral trade pact.

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Mr. Vance will be accompanied by his wife, Usha, their three young children — Ewan, Vivek and Mirabel — and senior members of the U.S. administration.

“This is an official visit. He will be meeting the prime minister. With the US, we have a comprehensive strategic global partnership. When you have that level of partnership with any country, obviously, you will discuss all relevant issues,” Mr. Jaiswal said.

“And with the US, our relationship is such that we are doing anything that is part of human endeavour,” he added.

“All the bilateral issues will be discussed and we are very positive that the visit will give further boost to our bilateral ties,” Mr. Jaiswal said at his weekly media briefing in response to a question.

Mr. Vance is travelling to India amid rising global concerns over U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff tussle and both sides are likely to deliberate on firming up the proposed trade deal that is aimed at addressing issues relating to levies, market access and supply chains.

Soon after their arrival on Monday in New Delhi, Mr. Vance and his family are expected to visit the Red Fort, people familiar with the matter said.

In the afternoon, Mr. Vance will meet National Security Adviser (NSA) Ajit Doval, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president J.P. Nadda, they said.

Mr. Modi will interact with Mr. Vance and his family and host them for a formal dinner in the evening, the people said.

The Vances will travel to Jaipur on April 22 and visit key tourist sites and have some engagements, they added.

They will travel to Agra the next day to visit the Taj Mahal, the people said.

The U.S. Vice-President is travelling to India against the backdrop of Mr. Trump’s policy on tariffs that has triggered massive trade disruptions and fears of a global economic recession.

Days after his reciprocal tariff kicked in this month, Mr. Trump announced a 90-day pause on it on all countries, except China, as countries around the world wilted under the impact of the seismic action.

Mr. Vance’s visit will take place weeks after U.S. Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Tulsi Gabbard’s trip to India.

The DNI held separate meetings with Mr. Modi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Mr. Jaishankar and Mr. Doval.

The U.S. President’s tariff tussle has stoked fears of a global trade war.

Following talks between Mr. Modi and Mr. Trump in Washington DC in February, the two sides announced to negotiate the first tranche of the BTA by the fall of 2025.