U.S. Vice President JD Vance and second lady Usha Vance, with their children. File
| Photo Credit: AP
After a few postponements, U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance, his wife Usha Chilukuri Vance and children are set to visit India later this month, sources confirmed here. Mr. Vance, who met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Paris and Washington this year, had sent out feelers for the visit to India, and in particular for a chance for a “heritage” tour for his family, given his wife is an American of South Indian origin.
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As a result, while officials said the U.S. Vice President’s visit will coincide with a planned visit of U.S. National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, Mr. Vance’s schedule is like to be “largely private”. Mr. Vance is expected to call on PM Modi, who will host a dinner for the Vance family in Delhi. The Vances are set to travel to Jaipur and Agra, for what is called the “Golden Triangle” tour popular for sightseeing in India, during their four-day trip.
The sources said the final dates for the visit are likely to be April 21-24, although there may be some adjustments depending on PM Modi’s schedule, given that the PM is expected to travel to Saudi Arabia from April 22-24 for a long-delayed bilateral visit.
During his trip, Mr. Waltz will hold talks with NSA Ajit Doval on the successor mechanism to the India-U.S. Initiative for Critical and Emerging Technologies (ICET), called Transforming Relations Utilising Strategic Technologies (TRUST), Mr. Waltz’s schedule will include a speaking engagement at the Indo-U.S. Forum organised by the Delhi-based Ananta Centre.
The visits by Mr. Vance and Mr. Waltz, which follow the U.S. Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Tulsi Gabbard, and come ahead of a visit by Defence Minister Peter Hegseth this summer, are all expected to prepare for a trip by U.S. President Donald Trump later this year, when he is expected to attend the Quad Summit and sign the first part of a Bilateral Trade Agreement between India and the U.S., which is being negotiated at present.
The visits will also be the first since the U.S. administration’s “reciprocal tariffs” when into effect, beginning Saturday (April 5, 2025), which include a 26% overall tax on Indian goods, and they would be a chance for New Delhi to convey its response to the unilateral action by the U.S., which has led to global market indices falling, and is likely to cause further economic disruption.
Mr. Vance’s India tour with his family will come after two controversial trips abroad as U.S. Vice President. His first foreign trip after being sworn was in February to France and Germany where he ruffled many feathers by criticising European countries for ignoring freedom of speech and migration issues, which was seen as his support for right-wing political parties there. Mr. Vance then travelled to Greenland in March along with Mrs. Vance and Mr. Waltz to double-down on Mr. Trump’s claims over the Denmark-controlled island. The visit appeared to backfire as the Vances remained on the U.S. military base in remote Pituffik for the entire duration, where Mr. Vance berated Denmark for “not doing a good job” in ensuring Greenland’s security.
Mr. Vance was earlier set to travel to Delhi last month, according to U.S.-based news portal Politico, but his plans have been changed a number of times. According to sources, an advance team finally conducted a reconnaissance trip to Delhi and the other destinations at the end of March, and the programme will be finalized shortly .
Published – April 05, 2025 08:38 pm IST